Develop a Budget

A proposal budget is the best estimate of the actual cost to conduct the scope of work. Standard budget components include:

Sponsors may also require a budget justification as part of the proposal.

Direct Costs

Cost Principles

In order for an expense to be budgeted as a direct cost, the cost must be:

Allowable: The cost must be allowable under the terms and conditions of the sponsored award, under applicable sponsor regulations (§200.403) and under University policies.
Reasonable: The cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services acquired, and the amount involved therefore, reflect the action that a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision to incur the cost was made (§200.404).
Allocable: The cost must benefit the project and be directly attributable to the project or activity being performed. The cost can only be assigned and allocated to the project(s) based on that portion of the expense that represents the direct benefit to the project (§200.405).
Consistent: Costs incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances must be treated consistently as disclosed to the University's cognizant agency (§200.400(e) and §200.401(b)).

Examples and Guidance

Personnel

Determine salary, wages and fringe benefits for all project participants based on their level of effort devoted to the project.
Include all UCSF employees involved with the project.
- Confirm salaries of named individuals in My Reports (I nstructions).
- Use the Title Code System (TCS) Salary Scales for to-be-named (TBN) individuals (Instructions).
- Additional guidance for budgeting graduate students, non-NRSA GSR/Postdoc on NIH research awards/diversity supplements, and administrative clerical staff.

Consultants

A consultant is an external expert who can provide special knowledge or advice. Consultant fees are generally paid only to individuals not employed by UCSF or other UC campuses.

Examples of consultant costs include consulting service fees and travel reimbursemements.

For each consultant, specify the consultant’s:

Name
Daily rate of pay
- Documentation to justify the pay rate.
Number of days s/he will be paid

Equipment

UCSF defines equipment as tangible or intangible property that can be used or consumed for more than one year, with a unit price of $5,000 or more. These items should be included as equipment in the budget and are excluded from modified total direct costs (MTDC).

See Capital Equipment and Accounting on the Controller's Website for more details on policy concerning capitalization of software or fabricated equipment.

Materials and Supplies

Supplies are defined as expendable items costing less than $5,000. In order to be requested from a federal sponsor, supplies must be specifically related and allocable to the proposed project.

List supplies by category (e.g., chemicals, glassware, survey forms, electronic components) with an estimated cost of each.
Explain how proposed costs were derived. Historical pricing data can be the basis of budget estimates for ongoing projects or in cases where similar work has been performed on another project.

Travel

For each project-related trip, include:

Purpose and destination (if known)
Number of individuals traveling
Mode and cost of transportation (e.g., airfare, mileage reimbursement)
Number of days
Per diem rate (foreign travel)

Do not include consultant travel. Consultant travel should be included in the Consultant costs.

Learn more:

UCSF Controller’s Office
UC Policy G-28: Travel Regulations
US Department of State foreign per diem rates by location

Alterations and Renovations

Budgets may include essential alterations and renovations needed to convert interior space necessary to adapt an existing facility or to install equipment. Routine maintenance and repair are generally not considered alteration and renovation expenses.

Specify the amount of the alterations or renovations
Provide justification

Additional clearances and permissions may be required in order to propose alterations/renovations of existing UCSF facilities.

Subcontracts/Subawards

Many projects involve researchers at other institutions, which may require a subcontract/subaward agreement.

Provide OSR advance notification if the proposal includes subcontracts/subawards to allow sufficient time to gather the required documentation. The PI may serve as point of contact for subcontractors.

The proposal should incorporate documentation from each subrecipient, including a complete itemized budget, budget justification, statement of work to be performed and a description of the subrecipient’s qualifications to perform that work. For more information, see the Subaward Proposal Toolkit.

Other Direct Costs

Other direct costs may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Patient Care Costs
Publication and Open Access
Data Network Recharge
Off-Campus Network
IT Field Services
Off-Campus Rent
Graduate Fees and Tuition Remission
General Automobile and Employee Liability (GAEL)

Patient Care Costs

Notify OSR immediately if your proposal includes a study involving patients.

Few budgets contain patient care expenses. However, if inpatient and/or outpatient costs are requested, provide the following information:

The names of any hospitals and/or clinics and the amounts requested for each.
If both inpatient and outpatient costs are requested, provide information for each separately.
Cost breakdown, including number of days, number of patients and costs of tests/treatments.
Justification of the costs associated with standard care or research care.

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Publication Costs and Open Access

Publication expenses directly related and allocable to a project may be incurred after the end of the performance period without prior approval of a no-cost extension. These costs must be charged to the project before the end of the 120-day close-out period and included in the final billing or reporting.

For more information and how to estimate costs, please review the UCOP Open Access Fact Sheet for Researchers Applying for Grants.

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Data Network Recharge

Recharge rate for Data Network Access.

DHHS Disclosure Statement
UCSF Budget and Resource Management - Budget Planning Assumptions (Requires My Access login - go to current Budget Call tab, select Employee Benefits and Other Planning Assumptions Attachment)

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IT Field Services

Operating Guidance Memo - ITS Field Service Direct Charges on All Sponsored Awards
DHHS Disclosure Statement
UCSF Budget and Resource Management - Budget Planning Assumptions (Requires My Access login - go to current Budget Call tab, select Employee Benefits and Other Planning Assumptions Attachment)

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Clinical Trial Resources

It is important to consider the different components of a clinical trial budget, such as site administrative fees, per-patient costs, and other variable items and services.The budgeting resources on OCTA Budgeting Resources page should be used in coordination with the patient care costs on the OCTA Research Fee Schedule page. These resources are specific to UCSF Campus sites; and there may be additional cost considerations for affiliates and other locations.

UCSF Resources

Fixed Rate Guidance
Subcontractor or Purchase Agreement Matrix
UCSF Budget and Resource Management - Budget Planning Assumptions
- Requires My Access login - go to current Budget Call tab, select Employee Benefits and Other Planning Assumptions Attachment
UCSF Approved Recharge Rate Table
UCSF IRB Review Fees
eProposal Support/Help Materials
OSR Teams, Department Chairs, MSOs and Delegated Authorities (Requires UCSF Login)

Sponsor Resources

Previous Step - Plan Project

Next Step - Compile Proposal

Responsibilities

Principal Investigator

Provide personnel effort levels
Provide budget items and prices
Contact for subrecipients

OSR Staff

Draft/prepare budget*
Collect/review subrecipient budgets
Finalize sponsor budget forms

Department Staff

Verify budget input

Detailed Responsibilities

RMS Service Partnership Agreement (SPA)

*Process may vary for After-the-Fact and Clinical Trial proposals

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