Budget Development

All proposals must incorporate a detailed breakdown of the financial support being requested from a sponsor. A proposal budget is a best estimate of the costs requested to complete a project. Budgets should be prepared with as much detail as possible. Here are some highlighted areas.

• Budgets for applications to federal agencies must reflect the appropriate rates as established in the negotiated F & A Rate Agreement. Applications to non-federal entities should reflect the rates as established in the SHU Indirect Cost Recovery policy.  (Policy GR001)
   
• Budgets have Direct and Indirect Costs (please refer to the PI Handbook for details)
   
• Proposals with Cost Sharing: Cost sharing should not be included in a proposed budget unless the sponsor requires it.
  • When cost sharing is required, the Principal Investigators should contact GRO at early as possible. This will enable the PI and GRO staff to:
    • Identify and document sources of cost share
    • Obtain clarification from the agency regarding the types of allowable cost share, e.g., unrecovered indirect costs
       
• Budget justification -Written explanations for the inclusion of items such as equipment purchases, travel, and subawards are normally required along with a formatted budget. Specific products and potential vendors should be identified whenever possible.
   
• Multi-year projects - A proposal for a project that is expected to be funded for more than one year should include an itemized budget for each year. One should employ the same format for each year and prepare a cumulative summary budget for the entire proposed project period. The summary page should be in the same format as the annual budget, with all the costs combined.
   
• Dates - Make sure to indicate the dates covered by each budget year