Cost Sharing Basics Professional Development Institute January 2010

Cost Sharing Definition Portion of total project costs not borne by the sponsor – Direct Cash In-kind – Facilities and Administrative Cost OVPR approval required Sponsor approval required Types of cost sharing – Mandatory Required by the terms of the sponsor agreement Salary Cap Institutional vs. Project – Voluntary Committed Uncommitted

Federal Guidance OMB Circular A-21 Cost Accounting Principles Allowable, Allocable, Reasonable OMB Circular A-110 Administrative Guidance Cost Share Language Subpart C_23 Verifiable from recipient records Not included as contribution to another federal project Necessary and reasonable Allowable under cost principles (see above) Not paid from another federally-sponsored project (unless approved) Provided for in the budget Conform to other provisions of A-110

CSU Guidance PI Manual Section VIII – Keep cost share at lowest level possible Process Considerations – Proposal Stage – ASAP Contact your Senior Research Administrator – Indicate on SP-1 (PASS) Obtain necessary approvals – Department Head, Dean, Director, OSP, VPR Identify sources

CSU Guidance Process considerations – Proposal – SP-8 (F&A Waiver) – Institutional Commitment Form df df – Documentation from 3 rd Parties Process considerations – Award – Creation of cost share account (SP-9)

CSU Guidance Process considerations – Award – Creation of cost share accounts Done after 53 account is set up Accuracy Process or changes should be coordinated through OSP – Cost share account coordinator (Clint McBlair) – Unrecovered F&A Account not needed

Cost Share Issues and Misconceptions Cost Sharing is not “Real Money” – Direct Cost – F&A Costs Effective rate much less than 47% Utilities, maintenance, construction, equipment Human Resources, Department Administration, OSP Double “Whammy” – F&A rate calculation – Bigger base = lower recovery rate Competitiveness – Leverage vs. cost sharing

Example Proposal Language Effort equivalent to $25,000 in salary and benefits will be provided to the project by Professor Roy Hinkley Professor Longhair will act as principal investigator and requests 30% salary support. He will provide additional support as needed. Dr. Christmas Jones will have access to addition resources such as a Large Hadron Collider to complete the work of the project

Valuation Examples To demonstrate the value of the energizer battery consumption algorithm we will subject three electric cars (MSRP $25,000 each) to various operating scenarios. The cars will be provided to the project by their owners for the test period free of charge. Ray Kinsella will provide a 3 acre tract of land for a period of 1 year to test the efficacy of new field lights at no cost to the project. The fair market value of the land is $5,000 per acre.

Valuation Examples To accomplish the renovation of the homeless shelter Mr. Perry Mason, Esq. will provide 60 hours of general construction work. A noted attorney, Mr. Mason’s billable rate is $500 per hour. Mr. Tony Stark will donate 10 copies of his system control software (MSRP $50 each) to the project.

Valuation Examples To celebrate the successful completion of the project the School of Applied Fermentation will sponsor a Beer Pong competition for the faculty and staff associated with the project. The sponsor requires 5% cost share for a project and considers tuition an unallowable cost. Since my graduate student worked on the project and my department supported the tuition I can count the tuition toward my requirement.

Documentation Professor “Wrong Way” Feldman neglected to set up the required cost share account to collect the voluntary committed cost share for her project on topography. A memo from her stating that 10 volunteers worked on the project is sufficient support. A letter from a corporate sponsor stating, “We support the project by committing goods and services up to $5,000” is sufficient support.