Proposal Development and Budgeting Basics

Ellen JamiesonDirector, Grants and ContractBMC Research Operations

Introduction

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The information presented today is designed to help you navigate the

administrative requirements of proposal and budget development to

improve the possibility of your application being reviewed and

funded

Proposal DevelopmentLocate Funding

& Complete Proposal Package

Require Funding for Research

Institutional Review

Life Cycle of Award

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Just in Time Requests (New)

Progress Reports

Account Set Up

Principle Investigator

Research Administrator

Grants and Contracts Office

Research Finance

Others involved

Award Lifecycle

Proposal Submission and/or Signature

Approval

Close out & Sponsor Reports

Prior Approval Requests

Subaward Processing and

Negotiating

Tracking and Accounting

Incurring Costs and Purchasing

Proposal Timelines

2 – 3 Months Prior to Deadline

Review Sponsor’s proposal Requirements

Start writing – 2 to 3 months prior to deadline

Confer with Colleagues

Review RFA Review Criteria

Talk to Federal Program Officers

1 Month Prior to Deadline

Collect all Biosketches, etc..; Develop Budget & Justification; Obtain Subcontractor Documents (LOI, Budget, Scope of Work, etc.)

5 Days prior to Deadline (At least)

Submit all internal paperwork, including COI forms, and preliminary proposal to BMC Grants Administration for initial review

Submit completed proposal to BMC Grants Administration for final review-(Minimum 48 hours to ensure success)

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Program Types

K01: Research Career Programs - Research Scientist Development AwardFor support of a scientist, committed to research, in need of both advanced research

training and additional experience.

K08: Research Career Programs - Clinical Investigator Award (CIA)To provide the opportunity for promising medical scientists with demonstrated aptitude to

develop into independent investigators, or for faculty members to pursue research aspects of categorical areas applicable to the awarding unit, and aid in filling the academic faculty gap in these shortage areas within health profession's institutions of the country.

R01: Research ProjectsTo support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named

investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies.

R03: Research Projects - Small Research GrantsTo provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical

program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/ac_search_results.htm

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Proposal Preparation

Sponsor Guidelines

• Read the Program Announcement / Instructions thoroughlySponsor’s policies and proceduresReview Criteria

• NIH SF424 RR Guidelines and Forms http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm

BMC Grants Administration Websites

• Contains links to sponsor guidelines, forms, and instructions • BMC Grants Administration:

http://internal.bmc.org/grants/pre_award.html

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Sponsor Instructions

• Paper or Electronic? When due?

• Required NIH Forms (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm)

• Page Limitations

• BudgetTotal Cost Cap?Direct Cost Cap

• Review Criteria

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“Typical” Proposal Elements

Cover page - PI contact info, title of proposal, funds requested, project duration, and signature lines

Project Summary/Abstract - brief description of proposed project (usually 1 page)

Specific Aims/Research Strategy - detailed description of proposed project

Personnel - CVs, biosketches, or paragraph-size descriptions

Resources – Description of organizational resources available (Facilities, Scientific Environment

Budget - annual costs of the project, using standard categories

Budget justification - narrative explanation of how amounts were calculated and how funds will be used

Supporting documents - letters of support and other items showing strength of partnerships, university commitments, etc..

Other - management, diversity, outreach, and/or evaluation plans

8NIAID: sample applications http://www.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/grant/pages/appsamples.aspx#r01

New NIH/AHRQ Biosketch

Biosketch Sections Old Format New Format

Number of pages 4 5

A. Personal Statement Description of why investigator is well-suited for their role on project

Same; Plus up to 4peer reviewed publications

B. Positions and Honors List in chronological order previous positions List Honors and Memberships on any Federal Government public advisory committee

Same

C. Publications (old) List of 15 relevant publications Not applicable

C. Contribution to Science (new)

Not applicable Up to 5 of the investigator’s most significant contributions to science Reference up to 4 peer-reviewed publications per contribution Link to a full list of published work as found in a publicly available digital database such as MyBibliography or SciENcv.

D. Research Support List ongoing and completed research projects for past three years (no dollars, effort, or overlap)

Same

9New Biosketch format required for all applications after 5/25/2015See NOT-OD-15-032

BUDGETS

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• Translates resource needs to dollars

• Conforms to agency guidelines

• Estimates are realistic

• Supports the program

• Explains itself

• Plans ahead

• Identifies organizational concerns/issues

Criteria of a Good Budget

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Direct vs. Indirect Costs

Identification with the sponsored work rather than the nature of the goods and services involved is the determining factor in distinguishing direct costs from indirect costs.

Direct Costs are costs that can be identified specifically with a particular activity/project or directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.

Examples of DC

•Salary

•Fringe

•Equipment

•Supplies

•Travel

•Patient Care Costs

•Subawards, etc..

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Examples of IDC

•Utilities (lights, heat, etc)

•Depreciation

•Housekeeping

•Hospital Services

•Building Improvements

•Compliance

Direct Costs – Salary

• 75 – 80% of Budget is Salary and Fringe Benefits

• Salary Cap: Legislatively mandated limitation of direct salary charges to an NIH grant, currently $183,300 (1/11/15-9/30/15) (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-14-043.html) Calculation

Institutional Base Salary x Percent Effort = Salary Costs

or Institutional Base Salary / academic appointment

(i.e. 12 or 9) x person months of effort

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Direct Costs - Fringe Benefits

BMC FB Rates BU FB Rates*

* BU FB Rates as of 07/01/2014; these are renegotiated each year

FB Rates - Federal

10/01/12 31.2% BMC Staff

 

 

27.6% Professional24.9% Support StaffN/A Consultant9.5% Graduate Students

Non-Federal FB Rates

10/01/12 31.2% BMC Staff

29.2% Professional26.5% Support StaffN/A Consultant9.5% Graduate Students

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Direct Cost Budget Categories

Consultants• BU and BMC employees can not be classified as “consultants” on a BMC grant proposal

– if BU employee, they can either be part of a subcontract (primarily working in BU space), or they can be listed in the Salary/FB budget category (primarily working in BMC space).

Capital Equipment• Greater than $5,000 in acquisition cost (capitalization threshold)• Sponsor often requires quote from equipment vendor

Travel• Information about per diem costs for travel (car mileage on a federal grant can be found

at:http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/100715; and http://internal.bmc.org/policy/pdf/HospitalWide/39_04_519_Travel_082014.pdf

Animal• Per diem costs for animals, and purchasing costs for different species can be found

at:http://www.bu.edu/animalcare/services/per-diem-rates/ and http://www.bu.edu/animalcare/services/animal-ordering/

Patient Care Costs• Inpatient/Outpatient Service Charges (Hospital services with CPT codes) - E-mail the

Clinical Trial Office at CTO@bmc.org

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Subrecipients vs. Consultants

• Subrecipient – A third-party organization that conducts a significant part of the research, assists in making programmatic decisions, and has deliverables to the final product.

• Consultant* – An individual who lends specific technical expertise and whose relationship with the project is of limited duration and scope.

* BMC employees can never be budgeted as consultants

Direct Cost – Subawards/Subrecipients

Budget Considerations

• On subawards, only the first $25,000 is subject to the institution’s Facility and Administration (F&A) Recovery (Indirect Costs).

• Consultants, Vendors/Contractors and Purchase Orders are subject to full F&A Recovery (Indirect Costs).

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Direct Cost – Subawards/Subrecipients

Documents required:

• Letter of Intent• Scope of Work• Budget & Budget Justification• Biosketch(es) (if sponsor requires)• Other Support (if sponsor requires)• DUNS number• DHHS Rate Agreement – if available (10% deminimus rate allowed

if no rate agreement; Foreign Subrecipients, 8% rate)

For NIH Grants:

If direct cost budget is “capped”, the Indirect Costs for the subcontractor does not count toward the “direct cost cap”

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Direct Cost – Typically Unallowable

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• Alcohol

• Entertainment

• Fixed Phone Charges

• Office Supplies

• Subscriptions

• Membership Dues

• Copier Charges

Modular Grants

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm

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BMC Indirect Costs

Indirect Costs or IDC = Facility and Administrative Costs (F&A) = Overhead

Federal Indirect Cost Rates

Research: 10/1/14 74% on site

10/1/12 17.8% off-site

Service/Programmatic: 28% service/programmatic

Training: 8% training

BMC calculates IDC using a “Modified Total Direct Cost” or MTDC method:

Direct Costs minus subaward costs (in excess of the first $25K), equipment costs, patient care costs, tuition and fees costs = MTDC

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Modified total direct costs (MTDC), consisting of all salaries and wages,fringe benefits, materials, supplies, services, travel and subawards up to the first $25,000 of each subaward.(regardless of the period covered by the subaward).

Modified total direct costs shall exclude equipment, capital expenditures,charges for patient care, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, stipends (non-NRSA training grants only) as well as the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000.

Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC)

Indirect Cost Formula

Direct Costs – Equipment ($5,000 or more) – Subcontract

(in excess of $25,000) = MTDC

MTDC x Indirect Cost Rate (74%) = Indirect Costs

Direct Costs + Indirect Costs = Total Costs

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Timeline: Submission to Award (NIH)

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Submission

• Organization submits application to Sponsor by receipt timeline

• Federal Applications go through grants.gov then eRA Commons

Review

• Assignment to Institute (within two weeks)

• Assignment to reviewers (3 months)

• Initial peer review (1 - 2 more months)*

After Review

• Advisory Council recommends funding after second level review (2 - 3 more months)

• Notice of Award Issued about 1 - 2 months later

*Summary Statements come out about 30 days after

Approximately 10 months

Just in Time (JIT)

• Required DocumentsOther Support Documents (Active & Pending)– All Key Personnel

Sponsor Project Number and PI Project Period Person Months Effort (never 0) Sponsor Name Annual Direct Cost Project Title Overlap with other projects

IACUC approval date (if Animals)IRB approval letter and date (If Human SubjectsHuman Subject Training Certificates

• Other Documents (optional)DHHS Rate AgreementsBudget (only if revising)Other requests by Sponsor

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Other Helpful Links

• InfoEd Proposal Development (PD) InfoEd PD is the internal mechanism to create and submit grant proposals http://www.infoed.partners.org

• Grants.gov (multiple Government funding sources) Grants.gov is a central storehouse for over 1000 grant programs and

approximately $400 billion in annual awards. http://www.grants.gov/index.jsp

• NIH eRA Commons Web interface where NIH and the grantee community are able conduct

extramural research administration business electronically New department users and Investigators must contact their Grant

Specialist to establish an account https://commons.era.nih.gov

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Contacts

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Grants and Contracts Office

Ellen Jamieson, Director Grants and Contracts

617-414-5646

Ellen.Jamieson@bmc.org

Robina Folland, Associate Director Grants and Contracts

617-638-7536

Robina.Folland@bmc.org

Handouts

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• Sample RFA (Request for Proposal)• BMC “FACT SHEET”• Proposal Summary Form (e-PSF) and instructions• Letter of Intent or LOI (subawards)• Financial Conflict of Interest Form• Sample Five Page Biosketch• Sample Reference Letters• Sample Resources and Facilities• Sample Resource Sharing• NIH Page Guidelines• NIH Application Due Dates