Grants Management Guidance

Grants Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Am I an eligible PI?

All tenured/tenure-track faculty and research scientists can be Principal Investigators. Employees or appointees affiliated with the University of Maryland (i.e., adjunct faculty, graduate assistants, and postdoctoral associates) may be PIs with the endorsement of the department chairperson and dean and must have an appointment in PHR. All PIs and Co-PIs must be listed in and certify their participation in Kuali Research.

Q2: What are my resources for finding funding?

View the latest University of Maryland funding alerts at Funding Alerts | Division of Research (umd.edu)

Q3: How do I learn more about the proposal process?

Sponsored Research Handbook provides an overview of the policies and procedures that apply to research at the University of Maryland.

Q4: How do I get my proposal routed through the university?

A proposal must have the endorsement of campus officials and therefore must be electronically routed through Kuali Research to get the required electronic signatures of the lead department chairperson, college dean and authorized University official, which is delegated to the Office of Research Administration. If you do not have access to Kuali Research, your Grants Manager can assist in routing your proposal for both funded (grants, service contracts, etc.) AND non-funded (NDAs, data-use, etc.) agreements through Kuali. Please contact Kalika White whitekr@umd.edu, x56808 for details.

Q5: Can I sign the contract?

If you are entering into an agreement as a member of the University (faculty, staff or student) the answer is: NO. The University has designated officials that represent the University who ensure compliance with university many policies. This is true for both funded (grants, service contracts, etc.) AND non-funded (NDAs, data-use, etc.) agreements. ORA will work with you to facilitate the contract execution.

Q6: What is the timeline for submitting a proposal or agreement?

Submit your draft proposal ten business days in advance. It takes 1-3 business days for the internal routing at the college level and up to 6 business days at the University level. Ten business day lead time is ideal for acquiring signatures, completing required admin processes, and proper administrative proposal review.

If you do not have access to Kuali, your designated Grants Manager will need to input the award information and documents in Kuali before the due date. It is imperative to send ORA the completed final draft 1 full business day in advance of submission due date. This also allows for system issues and/or bounce-backs for missing information.

Q7: Are there any resources on creating the budget?

The grant budget must paint the financial picture of the request. Although the degree of specificity of any budget will vary depending on the nature of the project and agency requirements, a complete, well-thought-out budget serves to reinforce your credibility and increase the likelihood of your proposal being funded. You can find some helpful tips for creating a budget on this page.

Q8: How do I find out how much money is left on the grant award?

Authorized users can access this information via BA4. To gain access, you will need to click the link https://research.umd.edu/administration/post-award and scroll down and choose BA account request form. Complete the form and submit to Christina Nobelman for processing.

Q9: What is the University Facilities and Administration (overhead) rate?

The on-campus F&A rate as of 07/01/2023 is 56% of Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) for organized research and 40% (MTDC) other sponsored activities. The MTDC is the total direct costs minus: permanent equipment over $5,000; the portion of subaward costs over $25,000; tuition, scholarships and fellowships; capital expenditures (alterations and renovations); and rental of off-campus facilities.

The University may accept a lower rate if the sponsor has a written policy, or if a waiver is requested and approved. More information can be found here: Facilities & Administrative Rates FAQ’s | Office of Research Administration (umd.edu)

Q10: Why do I need to complete an Effort Report?

If you were paid in full or in part by external funding, an effort report is automatically generated for you to review and approve electronically. Effort reports are generated at six-month intervals. When you review your effort report, you are checking for a reasonable account of your activity.

These procedures reflect the University’s commitment to certify effort properly. All faculty and staff involved in effort certification must understand that inaccurate, incomplete, or untimely effort reporting could result in financial penalties, funding disallowances, and harm to the reputation of the individual and the University.

Q11: Who is the designated Grants Manager for Smith?

Kalika White is here to support the financial management of the award you received on behalf of the University of Maryland. She will answer questions related to proposal routing, access, travels, payroll, Effort Reporting, etc. Please contact Kalika White whitekr@umd.edu, x56808 if you have any questions or concerns.

Creating a Grant Budget

A budget is presented as a categorical list of anticipated project costs representing the PI’s best estimate of funds needed to support the proposed work. The grant budget must paint the financial picture of the request. A well-thought-out budget serves to reinforce credibility and increase the likelihood of the proposal being funded. Below are some helpful tips in creating a grant budget.

1. Start thinking about your budget requirements early.

Funding levels of grant programs change each year. If you are developing a budget in anticipation of a solicitation being announced and do not yet know the funding amount, review the same grant solicitation (if offered in past years) to project future funding levels. You also can use past solicitations to make lists of budget items needed for the project.

2. Understand the Funder's Requirements.

Before preparing your program or research grant budget, check the format required. While some funders will allow you to use your own budget template, others will provide you with a template that incorporates their budget lines and categories. Check to see if the funder asks for a specific format or if they provide a template. If not, you can choose the format you want to create. Below are links to budget templates required by some funders as well as guidance on budget preparation. Also, below is a link to sample budget templates offered by UMD. When no budget template is provided by the funder, you are required to use a budget template provided by ORA at the link below. When in doubt, contact the funder for guidance.

3. Determine your project period.

The project period is important as it determines what fringe benefit rates, Facilities and Administration (F&A)/indirect cost rates and salary amount to use. Project periods may be specified in the solicitation (earliest start date), the PI may have a specific project period in mind (season or event dependent) or there may be start and end dates specified by the sponsor. Usually, the start date is within six to nine months of submission. However, this varies greatly based on the sponsor and funding opportunity.

4. Know your limits!

Carefully read the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for budget criteria. You should look for limits on the types of expenses (e.g., no construction allowed), spending caps on certain expenses (e.g., travel limited to $10,000), and overall funding limits (e.g., total costs cannot exceed $300,000 per year).

5. Know what is allowable!

Because most of the research funding comes from the federal government, UMD’s cost accounting standards are based on federal regulations. These are listed in circulars provided by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the executive branch of the federal government. All federal sponsor policies that govern grant management (such as the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are based on the OMB Uniform Guidance, which establishes principles for determining allowability of costs applicable to grants, contracts and other agreements. Per Uniform Guidance, all costs in the budget should be allocable, reasonable and allowable.

1. Allocable costs are clearly associated with the project. For example, data purchased for use on a specific project should only benefit that project. Also, travel costs incurred for the Principal Investigator to obtain data on the topic of the research would generally qualify, but travel costs to attend a conference on a topic not related to the research would not.

2. Reasonable costs would generally be accepted as necessary per a “prudent” person’s review. For example, the purchase of a laptop computer for field research by a graduate student researcher on the project would generally be accepted as reasonable, while the purchase of a laptop for non-project-related coursework by a graduate student researcher would not.

3. Allowable costs are permitted by institutional and sponsor regulations. There are some costs that are specifically prohibited from being charged to a sponsored project, such as alcoholic beverages, advertising, lobbying or entertainment charges. These are known as "unallowable" costs. It is important to ensure that a cost is allowable before including it in a proposal.

6. Determine which budget categories to use.

When developing a budget, the PI should consider everything necessary to ensure the project runs successfully. Make a comprehensive list without worrying initially about cost. Include every aspect of the program such as PI compensation, reduced course load, paid students and other personnel, supplies, equipment, facilities for program-related events, travel, publication, etc. The budget summary, or line-item budget, is a list of all project costs being requested, with dollar amounts listed alongside each budget item, line and category. The following is an outline of the main budget categories.

Budget Categories

Personnel
Fringe Benefits
Travel
Contracts/Consultants
Equipment
Supplies
Other
Indirect
Program Income

7. Use the appropriate fringe and Facilities and Administration (F&A)/indirect cost rates.

The University has successfully negotiated a new Fringe Benefit cost rate agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and F&A indirect cost rates for the upcoming FY23 fiscal year. See link to rate agreements below:

Fringe Rate: UMD Fringe Rate
F&A Agreement: F & A Information | Office of Research Administration (umd.edu)

8. Determining Cost Share/Matching Costs.

Cost sharing or matching refers to that portion of a project or program costs not paid by the sponsor and/or is explicitly required by the program or solicitation, without which an application would be ineligible. Please review UMD’s Cost Share policies and procedures for guidance Cost Share | Office of Research Administration (umd.edu).

9. Make sure costs tie in with the budget narrative.

Someone should be able to look at your budget and understand what you are proposing to do, even if they have not read your program or project description. The biggest mistake people make when putting together a budget is not making the budget match the proposed budget narrative. A budget narrative is a supplemental document that justifies each budget item and the budget request within a grant application or project proposal for funders. The narrative serves two purposes: it explains how the costs were estimated and it justifies the need for the cost.

10. Use real numbers.

It is critical that you base budgeted expenses on true costs. Of course, getting dollar amounts for employee or mileage costs should be easy because your Grants Manager should have that information or be able to project it. When it comes to other costs – like materials and supplies, for instance – you’ll need to do some research. A few good places to determine project costs are stores, online pricing, and quotes from vendors.

11. Make sure your numbers add up.If you need assistance, the Grants Manager can review the draft budget to ensure allowability and that the numbers add up.

12. Be realistic about the budget request. Usually, you can find out how much to apply for in a grant application by reading a funder’s guidelines. Also, there may be a specific amount the funder wants to award. If there is no amount provided, you can use past solicitations for guidance? In the end, make sure the budget request is reasonable.