Grants and Sponsored Programs: Developing the Budget

Direct costs are easily identified as belonging to a specific sponsored project. Examples of direct costs include the following:

• Salaries, wages, and fringe benefits of faculty, technicians, scientists, research assistants, post-docs, students, or other personnel who are necessary to meet the goals of the project
• Scientific and technical equipment (including shipping and installation)
• Computer costs (hardware, software, supplies, and services) if specific to the project and not general purpose
• Materials, including non-capitalized equipment
• Participant expenses (e.g., travel and per diem of workshop participants)
• Supplies (consumables, e.g., chemicals, glassware)
• Services (including outside consultants)
• Subawards
• Subject costs (e.g., incentives paid to research subjects from whom data are collected)
• Travel for the Principal Investigator(s) and other project personnel
• Conference fees (e.g., abstract submission, registration)
• Publication and page charges

Indirect costs include costs which are frequently referred to as overhead expenses (for example, rent and utilities) and general and administrative expenses (for example, officers' salaries, accounting department costs and personnel department costs).

Dalton State College has a negotiated indirect rate of 52% through December 31, 2023. 

A “Buyout” situation applies when a faculty member is granted a course release in order to accommodate a faculty member’s work on an externally funded grant.  The corresponding percentage of the faculty’s appointment is directly charged (accounted for in) to the grant account (budget) during the term of the buy-out.  A faculty member who is applying for a grant and needs to reduce his/her teaching load can “buyout” the cost of the replacement adjunct faculty.  In the budget you should put in dollars at the higher level ($2500 for a 3 credit course).  Depending on the extent of the research and time commitment, one 3 credit course per semester would be appropriate.  More than that would require special consideration by the office of the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) sets an annual salary cap. Effective January 8, 2017, total compensation for individuals receiving funds from NIH and institutional sources may not exceed $187,000. If a faculty member’s annualized base salary exceeds this amount, the lower amount must be used. The National Science Foundation (NSF) require that salary requests in grant budgets be expressed as months. No more than 2 months’ salary may be requested for any senior personnel on one grant.

Subawards cover significant parts of sponsored projects contracted or otherwise transferred to another organization. A  clear description of the work to be performed, the basis for selection of the sub-awardee, and a separate budget and budget justification for the subaward should be included as part of the proposal, along with a letter of participation from the subawardee’s sponsored research office or equivalent. The letter should state that the subaward organization has reviewed the budget and scope of work and agrees to participate in the proposal. During any programmatic discussions with potential sub-recipients, financial commitments or arrangements must be coordinated with and approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs. 

All subaward costs are considered a composite direct cost by the College and should always be shown in the subaward cost line of the proposal. Subaward costs must be broken out and supported in the subawardee’s proposal to the College. Subaward costs should never be intermingled with Dalton State College cost elements. Subawards that include Facilities and Administrative charges as part of the budget must provide a copy of the institution’s current Facilities and Administrative costs rate agreement.

DSC's Office of Procurement  sets policy and procedure for purchasing at DSC. In addition to agency policies, we must follow DSC and the University System of Georgia (USG) guidelines on procurement. By reviewing and following their policies at the proposal stage, you can help avoid potential procurement issues once awarded.

The costs of travel for personnel to conduct research or attend conferences, presentations, or workshops in performance of the project are an important component of many budgets. All business travelers should review Dalton State College's travel regulations.