Writing a Competitive Grant:

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Writing a Competitive Grant

• Drafting the Budget

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What Is the Budget?

• The budget is the financial expression of the
  project or program.
• Circular A-110, Uniform Administrative
  Requirements for Grants and Agreements with
  Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and
  Other Non-Profit Organizations. U.S. Office of
  Management and Budget
• All those who review your grant proposal for a
  federal award will expect it to be no less.

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2Bs Bang Buck

• Bang for the Buck
• More Bang for the Buck
• Most Bang for the Buck

Your Budget must be as competitive as your
Project Narrative, if not more competitive.
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WHY? New Standards.

• In 1993, U.S. Congress passed the Government
  Performance and Results Act (GPRA). Target date
  for implementation 2000
• In 1995, United Way of America (major nonprofit)
  adopted new evaluation practices to see that
  monies were being well spent to reach goals.
• As funding opportunities have increased, research
  relationship between federal agencies and
  colleges and universities has grown. ResultU.S.
  Office of Management Budget is asking federal
  auditors for increased sample sizes.

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Changed Standards

• Standard is no longer negative accountability
  (making sure no one is committing fraud).
• Standard is positive accountability (making
  sure public dollars are being well spent).
• Standard shifted from mere honesty to rigorous
  effectiveness.
• Source "Transformed from a Cemetery of
  Bric-a-brac" by Stephen E. Weil

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Result Response

• Both U.S. Congress and United Way were responding
  to and ushering in new era of accountability.
• Public and private sponsors now set goals and
  priority areas and expect dollars to be used to
  meet those in an effective manner.

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Consequences

• When new standard is applied, sharing monies
  sharing authority (among institution, public, and
  agency).
• Our institutions themselves become more
  streamlined, focusing on goals and effectiveness.
• If we do above well, we garner more community and
  political support.

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Engaging New Standards

• Ask this question Am I making good use of
  taxpayers monies?
• Then ask Would I really want my taxes to fund
  this if another faculty member were proposing
  this project?
• Next ask Would the guy or gal working at the
  corner store think I had used her or his taxes
  well? selflessly? prudently?
• Finally ask Am I using the taxpayers monies to
  plug a hole in my institutions resourcesor am I
  using the taxpayers monies for the clearly
  stated priorities in the federal guidelines?

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Sharper Competition

• The pot of federal monies has been reduced over
  the past decade.
• The number of people competing for that pot has
  increased.
• The result the feds are leveraging their monies
  more and more.
• Guidelines are becoming stricter.
• Audits are becoming more rigorous.

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3Rs

• Read the sponsors criteria. What are the clearly
  stated goals? priority areas?
• Review the sponsors criteria again. Example Are
  the priority areas absolute, competitive, or
  invitational?
• Realize that salaried faculty may initially need
  to re-orient to handling external funds,
  especially public funds.

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The 3Cs

• A budget typically has 3 categories
• Direct Costs
• Administrative (category 1)
• Program (category 2)
• Indirect Costs
• Facilities Administration (FA) (category 3)

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Category 1

• Administrative People Paper
• Paper Administrative Supplies
• People Human Resources

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People

• YOU
• Multiple or co-PIs
• Consultants
• Undergrad or Grad Research Assistants
• Technicians
• Foreign participants

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People Funds

• Academic Year salary is generally unallowable
  (research is function of normal faculty
  therefore, it is part of organizational salary)
• Course Release funds for adjunct replacements
  are most times allowable.
• Summer Salary is usually 2/9s of regular
  academic-year salary
• Funds are available to support undergraduate or
  graduate research assistants to help carry out
  your research

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Category 2

• Program Costs
• Equipment
• Supplies
• Educational Materials
• Travel
• Subcontracts
• Shipping
• Other

All program costs are project-specific.
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Travel

• Airfare
• Compliance with Fly America act
• Per Diem
• Lodgings
• Meals Incidental Expenses (MIE)
• Log onto U.S. General Services Administration for
  allowable per diems
• Taxi, car rental, van shuttles, charter bus
• Mileage
• Visa fees
• Overseas insurance

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Other Costs

• Communication/Publication
• Services (transcription)
• Translation
• Long distance telephone
• Remitted tuition
• Stipends
• Payment to Human Subjects
• Animals
• Equipment Service Agreements

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Truly Unallowable Costs

• Entertainment
• Banquets and Coffee Breaks
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Personal Use items
• General Use items
• All costs not specific or responsive to
  individual project
• All costs not making good use of taxpayers
  funds

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Hierarchy within Categories

• Rank by importance/expense
• Administrative Costs This is personnel (salaries
  are expensive)
• Program Costs This varies depending on nature of
  grant
• Example International exchange grants have high
  travel costs (airfare, lodgings).
• Example Scientific grants have high equipment
  costs (telescopes, MRIs).

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Line-Item Justification

• Allow sponsor to replicate your calculations
• Examples
• PI summer salary 2/9s of Academic Year salary
  (53,527 x 2/9s 11,894)
• RT airfare from Washington, D.C. to Buenos Aires
  _at_ 789 x 3 participants 2,367
• Computer Cluster 20 Intel Pentium workstations
  _at_ 1,149 22,980

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Budget Narrative

• Major grants sometimes ask for a Budget
  Narrative that supplements your line-item
  budget.
• Budget Narratives are usually exempt from length
  limits you are given free space to prove you are
  using public funds prudently.
• Project Narrative and Budget Narrative should
  have synchronized flow.

Stages in project should operate in concert
with stages of budget. Project Narrative is
conceptual expression Budget Narrative is
financial expression.
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Budget Narrative (contd)

• ? Why is each line item essential for this
  project?
• ? Are costs reasonable and sufficient?
• ? Do you have authority to argue this?

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Budget Narrative (contd)

• Sample Excerpts
• Line Item 12 Personnel includes a lab
  coordinator to set up and ensure all video,
  audio, and computer equipment are operational.
  Based on my experience setting up a Psychology
  Development Suite in my post-doc work, this
  set-up and training should take 25 hours at a
  rate of 50/hour (total1,250).
• Line Item 36 Funds are used to cover the RT
  airfare, lodgings and MIE for the external
  evaluator. The amounts have been estimated from
  the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
  per diems and from current economy airfares all
  funds will be cost reimbursable for the actual
  amounts expended up to allowable GSA rates.

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Timeline

• Draft budget three-six months in advance
• Grants associate can respond and clarify
  guidelines
• You can research all costs
• You can secure approval for cost sharing from all
  appropriate administrators

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Category 3 Indirect Costs (FA)

• Grants are given to the institutions
• The institutions assume responsibility for the
  timely and appropriate management of the
  grantsespecially their funds.
• All grants are subject to internal and external
  audits (these are not pretty).

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Indirect Costs

• Smaller Individual and State grants do not have
  pre-negotiated Facilities Administrative costs
  (FA).
• Major Federal grants do have pre-negotiated 48.9
  FA rate.
• Exception Department of Education

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Indirect Costs (contd)

• 48.9 of operating costs (not total grant amount)
• 48.9 covers fraction of an institutions
  operating costs (in the million)
• Federal agencies are acknowledging the extent to
  which they use U.S. institutions and their vast
  resources to house the agencies grants and
  accomplish their work.

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Indirect Costs (contd)

• What might these tapping into college resources
  costs cover?
• ? Audit and legal fees
• ? College, dean, and departmental administrative
  expenses (e.g., salaries, fringe benefits,
  offices)
• ? Routine office supplies, postage, local
  telephone costs, and professional memberships
• ? Depreciation and use of all general use
  equipment/ supplies (e.g., computers)
• ? Depreciation and use of all buildings and
  capital improvements (e.g., sidewalks, parking
  lots)
• ? Library expenses
• ? Student services (e.g., scholarships,
  activities)
• ? All operating maintenance costs (e.g.,
  heating and electricity, cleaning services, care
  of grounds)

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Indirect Costs (contd)

• ?FA costs create similar shock-effect as county,
  state, and tax deductions do to high school
  student receiving first paycheck for job at local
  supermarket.
• ?FA costs are paying for the infrastructure,
  e.g. the road and streetlights outside the
  supermarket allowing high schooler to drive there
  each day and personnel like police to ticket
  speeders so that student wont be in car crash on
  way to work.

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Indirect Costs OMB

• FA rates are derived from the U.S. Office of
  Management and Budget OMB Circular A-21
• Costs are those not identified readily and
  specifically with a particular sponsored
  project.
• Main goal is to achieve consistency in cost
  accounting practices at institutional level (not
  departmental level).
• Distinction between Direct and Indirect costs
  prevents inadvertent overcharging or
  double-counting.

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OMBs 4 Principles

• Are costs reasonable?
• Are costs allocable to grant?
• Are costs consistent with regular practices of
  the institution?
• Do costs conform to limitations of OMB A-21 or
  individual grant?

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Indirect Costs (The Good Stuff)

• FA intake can build up an institutions cost
  sharing funds
• FA funds can then be applied toward major grants
  that require cost sharing from the institution
• Institutions with BIG cost sharing funds can
  qualify for the BIG grants

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Questions?

• Help is all around
• We will review, clarify, interpret, calculate,
  adjust, estimate, and help all we can to produce
  a competitive budget.
• The budgetwith bang for the buck!