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Proposing
and Tracking Committed Effort
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The
commitment of effort made in proposals is the starting
point for a significant amount of project cost. At the
UR, approximately 60% of the direct cost expenditures
for sponsored awards are for salaries and benefits. Commitment
of effort also has significant implications for cost sharing.
The following principles apply in this regard:
- UR
salary is allocated on the basis of a distribution
of TOTAL effort (FTE, or Full-Time Equivalent), including
teaching, research activities, administrative responsibilities,
etc. Total effort is NOT based on a specified number
of hours (e.g., 40 hours per week) and total effort
is individualized for each faculty member.
- No
one has more than 100% FTE, and most Schools/Colleges
require that a specified percent be reserved for non-sponsored
activity.
- Effort
committed in a research proposal, awarded by the
sponsor,
and expended on the project must be matched with
an
equivalent salary charge EITHER directly to the sponsor,
or to a cost-sharing account, or to some combination
of these. These dollars then are included in UR's
Organized Research base and become part of our indirect
(F&A) cost rate calculation. For NIH investigators
whose salary is above the current NIH cap, salary
above the cap will be designated to an unrestricted
account in the University's Human Resources Management
System (HRMS). Effort may NOT be reduced to accommodate
for the salary cap.
- UR
(and its sponsors) expects a commitment of PI effort
for each research proposal. Except in specified cases
(such as travel or conference grants), proposals that
include no PI effort will be questioned.
NOTE:
The UR's cost
sharing policy states that PI's are strongly
encouraged to limit voluntary cost sharing of effort,
and that expected benefits and sponsor review priorities
should be weighed prior to making such commitments.
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| A
commitment of effort is usually made in the proposal
budget, but it may also be made in the narrative
or in conversation with the sponsor. When effort
is committed, awarded and expended, corresponding
salary must be directly charged or cost-shared. |
Cost
Sharing Scenarios |
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In
January 2001, the Office of Management Budget issued a
clarification
of Circular A-21, confirming that voluntary
uncommitted effort should NOT be accounted for separately
and included in the organized research base for the calculation
of indirect costs. That clarification also reinforces
the expectation that PI's WILL make a commitment of effort
to their research projects. Effort should be reported
to the sponsor as actually devoted and charged.
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addition to the reporting of effort on individual
awards, the UR is obligated by Federal regulation
to certify, at least annually, that the distribution
of an individual's salaried effort is reasonable
in relation to the work performed. At the UR, this
is done retrospectively via our Payroll Action ("turnaround")
Forms. The certification of effort stated on the
Forms must be signed by a person having first-hand
knowledge of the actual effort performed on a sponsored
project, preferably the PI. Finally, the UR is also
obligated by Federal regulation to have an acceptable
payroll system that adequately captures effort distribution.
Our system adheres to the "Plan Confirmation
System". Note that cost shared effort (mandatory
and committed voluntary) is identified via an annual
fiscal year survey of cost sharing, in addition
to any project specific reporting. |
FAQ
about Payroll Distribution, the Plan Confirmation
System (PCS), and the PCS Review |
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