Tools of the Trade

How do I calculate F&A or indirect costs (IDC)?
Information on calculating F&A or IDC.

 

How do I document the salary rate on a proposal for faculty and staff?
The backup documentation can be printed to a PDF from Banner鈥檚 NBAJOBS screen for that employee.

 

I am submitting a proposal to a sponsor. If I voluntarily cost share, my proposal will be reviewed more favorably, so can I reduce include the voluntary cost sharing?
No. According to Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.306), a sponsor cannot use cost sharing as a review criterion if cost sharing is not mandatory.

 

I am submitting a proposal to a sponsor. If I voluntarily reduce 911爆料鈥檚 F&A, my proposal will be reviewed more favorably, so can I reduce the F&A?
No. A sponsor cannot use reduced F&A as a review criterion in scoring an application. If a sponsor has a mandatory F&A rate that is lower than 911爆料鈥檚 federally-negotiated F&A rate for the activity, then 911爆料 will honor that reduced rate. However, if a sponsor accepts 911爆料鈥檚 full F&A rate for the activity, then we must budget for the full rate. Voluntarily reducing the F&A rate in a budget is not allowed except for very extreme cases when there is a substantial benefit to 911爆料 that outweighs the F&A recovered. It is very rarely approved.

 

I have received my award, what do I do now?
If you have received your notice of award directly from the agency in response to a proposal you submitted, please forward the documents to the OGCA general email: uaf-ogca@alaska.edu. OGCA will assign your award to a Grant and Contract Analyst (GCA) who will help you manage your award.

 

I received my Program Officer's approval, is this enough for me to move forward with the purchase(s)?
No. Depending on the agency, the program officer's approval may not be enough. A re-budget may also be required in Banner. An AwaRe form with justification should be sent to OGCA. If the program officer's approval was received in writing, it can be sent with the request as backup.

 

I work in a unit/department and I have never keyed before, where do I start?
Information on how you start is located on the Award Negotiaion, Acceptance & Setup page, under FRABUDP Keying process and Checklist.

 

It鈥檚 only a small amount of money with no overhead, so do I still need a proposal?
Yes, information regarding proposal review and endorsement can be found on the Proposal Submission page.

 

National Science Foundation (NSF) No Cost Extension (NCE) request process:
NCE requests for NSF need to be entered in Research.gov by PI:
  1. Log into
  2. Go to Awards & Reporting
  3. Go to Notifications & Requests
  4. Click Prepare New
  5. Select No-Cost Extensions
  6. Click Go
  7. Enter NSF ID
  8. Click Prepare New
  9. Fill in the form with the necessary information.

National Science Foundation (NSF) requests that require PI鈥檚 entry in the Research.gov/Fastlane
Process:
  1. Log into Research.gov at https://www.research.gov
  2. Go to Awards & Reporting
  3. Go to Notifications & Requests
  4. Click Prepare New
  5. Select ______
  6. Click Go
  7. Enter NSF ID
  8. Click Prepare New
  9. Fill in the form with the necessary information.
Budget Activities
  • Additional categories of participant support costs other than those described in 2 CFR 200.75
  • Change in Person鈥怣onths Devoted to the project
  • Pre鈥恆ward costs in Excess of 90 days
  • Reallocation of Funds Provided for Participant Support Costs
  • Rearrangement/Reconversion costs in excess of $25,000
  • Salaries of Administrative or Clerical Staff
  • Travel Costs for Dependents (UA POLICY DOES NOT ALLOW THIS 鈥 SO CANNOT ASK NSF)
No鈥怌ost Extension
  • No鈥怌ost Extension (SYSTEM WILL AUTOMATICALLY DETERMINE WHETHER IT IS A GRANTEE, 1ST or 2ND NSF APPROVED NCE)
Changes in Objectives, Scope, Methodology or Significant Changes
  1. Changes in Objectives or Scope
  2. Significant Changes/Delays or Events of Unusual Interest
  3. Significant Changes in Methods/Procedures
Changes in PI/PD and co鈥怭I/PD
  • Long鈥恡erm Disengagement of the PI/Project Director (PD) or co鈥怭I/PD
    • PI/PD or co鈥怭I/PD Transfer from one organization to another
    • Substitute (Change) PI/PD or co鈥怭I/co鈥怭D
  • Withdrawal of PI/PD or co鈥怭I/PD
Other
  • Annual and Final Cost Share Notification by Recipient
  • Conflicts of Interest that cannot be satisfactorily managered, reduced or eliminated and research that proceeds without the imposition of conditions or restrictions when a conflict of interest exists
  • Subawarding, Transferring or Contracting Out part of an NSF Award
Other Request
  • These are in Fastlane not Research.gov. If you select one of these items, it will prompt you to go to Fastlane to finish the request there.

 

What is the F&A Under-recovery Fee (aka the 9% fee/tax, the 鈥淔rank Tax鈥, URF, etc.)?
The F&A Under-recovery Fee is the minimum amount of administrative costs determined to be applicable for administering a grant or contact. It is based on 9% of MTDC of the award amount, and is capped at $25,000 maximum over the life of the award. More information can be found on the  Facilities & Administrative Costs page

 

What is the requirement, for example number of hours or dollars, for emeritus employee to qualify to be a PI on a grant?
The 911爆料 PI policy allows an emeritus faculty to submit a proposal without any special considerations. 911爆料 Principal Investigator Eligibility Policy (PDF)

 

OGCA need to receive a proposal in order to provide a final review and approval by the sponsor鈥檚 deadline date?
The information can be found on the Submission Deadlines page, including the 911爆料 policy on submission deadlines.

 

Where can I find helpful statistics for 911爆料?
Statistics including facts and figures for 911爆料 can be found on the Facts & Figures page.

 

Where can I find institutional (boilerplate) data to help fill out a form or application?
Boilerplate data can be found on the Institutional Data page.

 

Supplemental Funding

Supplemental Funding Decision Tree

 How Do I Find Funding

NIH eRA Commons

Subrecipient versus Contractor 

My award is going to end but I'm not finished with the work. What can I do?

Gift vs Grant Determination
What Prior Approvals are required
Who is an Authorized Representative 

Award with Negotiation
What is ORCD iD? 

What is SciENcv?
Can I Charge Administrative or Clerical Salaries Directly to My Sponsored Project?
Verification of Charges (VOC):  What Is Their Purpose and Why Do We Use Them?
What is a Contract?

NIH Proposal Basic Information: The Most Necessary Items
Other Transaction Authority (OTA)
Intergovernmental Support Agreement IGSA
Reference Letters vs. Letters of Support: What鈥檚 the Difference?
Impacted Research due to COVID-19: Communication with your Sponsor is
the Key
Where do I find funding opportunities for COVID-19?
What are the Common Elements of a Proposal?
The Importance of Annual and Final Project Report
Participant Support Costs (PSC): Everything you wanted
to know but were afraid to ask
What is Debarment and Suspension?
What are Certifications, Representations and Assurances?
Risk Assessment and Risk Management
Acknowledgement of Federal Funding, Why it is Important?
How do I Connect With a Program Officer/Manager at a Federal Agency?
 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Embellished Credentials in a Grant Application
Types of Awards
Types of Grant Funding Instruments
Data Management Plans and Data Sharing
Management Plan
NIH Your One Page Guide to Rigor and Reproducibility
Reviewer Guidance on Rigor and Transparency
Are You On the Fence About Whether to Resubmit?
Updated NSF C&P FAQs
NIH Resource Sharing Plan