1. Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Effort Reporting (And A Little More)
Michelle Melin-Rogovin, MA
Manager of Research Administration
Research Administration Services
FSM Dean’s Office for Research
September 2012

2. So - when does effort begin?
What is Effort?
Effort is work performed on a project, whether the sponsor pays salary expense associated with that work,
or not.
So - when does effort begin?

3. What is cost-sharing?
Cost sharing is when the dollars associated with work on a sponsored project are not borne by the project.
Cost sharing may be required (or not)
Cost sharing is subject to the same policies as the primary award, whether it is required or voluntary.
Cost-sharing is rarely mandatory on a sponsored project (except when a faculty member has salary that is over the NIH cap).
Voluntary cost-share is created when a faculty or staff member certifies their effort over the stated commitment to the sponsor. The department they work for may be required to pay for the difference.
If there is ongoing change in effort – rebudgeting the project to cover the salary may be an option, if the effort change is identified early.

4. What Is Effort Reporting?
Appointment
Effort Commitment
Planned Salary Distribution
Certified Effort
Salary = Effort
A process to record that we are meeting our effort commitments on sponsored projects and that salary charged to sponsors matches certified effort.
Commitment = Certified Effort = Salary

5. Planned Salary Distribution
Appointment
Effort Commitment
Planned Salary Distribution
Certified Effort
Salary = Effort
Position Appointment
The first step toward compliant effort reporting is to establish correct position appointments.
Occurs when faculty and staff are hired, and when there are changes in the understanding of their work (a promotion, an increase or decrease in their FTE status, or in the type of work they perform).
RESPONSIBILITY: Department Chair and Department Administrator with input from Research Administration

6. What is 100%? What comprises a faculty member’s Northwestern effort.
Faculty and staff employed by Northwestern University who have
responsibilities for research, teaching and administration at NU.
Includes NMFF members with clinical commitments.
One Hundred Percent
Fifty Percent
100%
100%

7. Planned Salary Distribution
Appointment
Effort Commitment
Planned Salary Distribution
Certified Effort
Salary = Effort
Effort Commitments
The second step to ensuring compliant effort reporting is to correctly manage effort commitments made on a faculty member’s appointment.
When proposing a new effort commitment, the nature of the faculty member’s position and available effort must be considered before submitting a proposal (or planning to work more clinic hours or teach).
Must be verified and reconciled on a regular basis; with adjustments in the appointment and position funding made to reflect the current effort as indicated.
RESPONSIBILITY: Department Administrator and Research Administrator

8. Planned Salary Distribution
Appointment
Effort Commitment
Planned Salary Distribution
Certified Effort
Salary = Effort
Planned Salary Distribution
The third step to ensuring compliant effort reporting is to align the planned salary distribution for a faculty member with their effort commitments.
Pivotal role in the process – needs to be maintained on a regular basis in order to maintain compliance
Planned salary distribution is established at the time of the award or based on other commitments, and then evaluated quarterly based on effort reporting.
Journals are completed to align salary to effort based on certification.

9. Salary Distribution, cont’d.
Appointment
Effort Commitment
Planned Salary Distribution
Certified Effort
Salary = Effort
Salary Distribution, cont’d.
Expectation is that the planned effort should change based on the fact that the investigator or staff member is working; experience in the field is different than the proposal or plan. This is expected.
Clinical trial management will be different than grants management, but in general, encumbered salaries on sponsored projects are preferable. (Adjusting salary within 90 days to move salary off a sponsored project is acceptable.)
A recharge mechanism for salary is recommended to avoid cost transfers when there are CTs occurring between sponsored projects on a semi-regular basis.
RESPONSIBILITY: Financial Administrator and Research Administrator with consultation from Department Administrator as indicated.

10. Planned Salary Distribution
Appointment
Effort Commitment
Planned Salary Distribution
Certified Effort
Salary = Effort
Certified Effort
The fourth step to ensure compliant effort reporting is to have faculty and staff certify their effort.
You can provide information and guidance to faculty when they certify, but you cannot tell them how to certify. This is helpful, as faculty have many questions and need reminders about their commitments.
Faculty can certify higher or lower, only they know what they have truly worked. (Faculty can certify for certain staff working on their projects.)
RESPONSIBILITY: Research Administrator with support from Department Administrator

11. Salary and Effort Alignment
Appointment
Effort Commitment
Planned Salary Distribution
Certified Effort
Salary = Effort
Salary and Effort Alignment
The final step to ensuring compliant effort reporting is to reconcile the certified effort report with the encumbered salary.
The research administrator receives a post-review notification and is able to work with the financial administrator to produce a journal that aligns salary and effort, given the faculty members’ position, the rules of the award and other policies.
Timely effort reporting and regular review of the project and budget allows us to ensure that the management of salary and effort remains compliant.
RESPONSIBILITY: Research Administrator and Financial Administrator

12. Tools to Manage Salary and Effort
TOOLS TO USE
Appointment
Commitment
Salary Distribution
Certification
Alignment
Hire letter X
Appt& Pos. Forms
Sal. Dist. Tool
Quarterly Effort Certification
Info Ed
NUFin Jrnl

13. How to assist faculty and staff members with certification

14. Certifying Effort En t e r he f o und C er ti i d E ff %. T h a l shou
100%.
Certifying Effort

15. Certifying Effort

16. Certification How to think about your effort.
What was my planned effort for this project?
Was my activity for this project (during this quarter) higher or lower? By how much?
Enter in your effort for that quarter.
Repeat for all sponsored projects on your effort report.
Review your planned effort for non-sponsored (university activity) using the same questions.
Your teaching or administrative activities may be combined on the same accounts.
Refer to the time period covered by the effort report to recall any particular courses or responsibilities.
Distribute the percentage effort for non-sponsored activities in the categories listed on page 2. (This should not = 100).

17. Clinical Trials
Depending on the volume of your clinical trial activities, you have two places you can certify:
On page 1 under the trial itself, if your effort exceeds 1% for that quarter, for that trial.
On page 2 in the clinical trials box if your combined clinical trials effort for all trials is measurable.

18. Common Mistakes Just the facts about effort certification.
Effort drives payroll on sponsored projects.
In order to accurately certify your effort you must base your certification on a reasonable estimation of your activity on a sponsored project – not how much you’ve been paid to work on it.
An average work week includes activities that are not allowable on sponsored projects – writing proposals, department meetings, writing e- mail.
Unless you are a graduate student, it is very difficult to justify certifying 100% on sponsored projects.
Effort is not based on a 40 hour work week – it’s not based on hours.
Think in terms of how you spend ½ a day.
Effort includes all your activities at NU/NMFF, not just research.

19. Questions? Resources for your salary and effort management questions:
Research Administration Services:
Michelle Melin-Rogovin
Catie Hor
Effort Reporting Team:
Erin Farlow