Proposal Development

April 2014

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Proposal Development

After this session you will:

• Understand the award lifecycle• Have a timeline to follow when planning to

submit a proposal• Know about different types of programs you can

apply for• Know where to find and what to look for in

sponsor guidelines and instructions• Understand the typical elements of a proposal• Know the basic elements of budgets

Life Cycle of Award Proposal

Development Locate Funding &

Complete ProposalPackage

Institutional Review

Proposal Submission

and/or Signature Approval

Account set up

Prior Approval Requests

Incurring Costs and Purchasing

Tracking andAccounting

Close-outs and

Sponsor Reports

More Money!

Award Lifecycle

Post-Award

Research

Fin

ance

Contracts

Negotiate & Execute incoming &

outgoing Subcontract &

Contract agreements

Just-in-Time submission

Progress Report review &

Submission

Department

Pre-Award

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Proposal Timelines

2 – 3 Months Prior to Deadline

Review Sponsor’s proposal Requirements

Start writing – 2 to 3 months prior to deadline

Confer with Colleagues

Review RFA Review Criteria

Talk to Federal Program Officers

1 Month Prior to Deadline

Collect all Biosketches, etc..; Develop Budget & Justification; Obtain Subcontractor Documents (LOI, Budget, Scope of Work, etc.)

5 Days prior to Deadline (At least)

Submit all internal paperwork, including COI forms, and preliminary proposal to BMC Grants Administration for initial review

Submit completed proposal to BMC Grants Administration for final review-(Minimum 48 hours to ensure success)

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Federal Program Types

K01: Research Career Programs - Research Scientist Development AwardFor support of a scientist, committed to research, in need of both advanced research

training and additional experience.

K08: Research Career Programs - Clinical Investigator Award (CIA)To provide the opportunity for promising medical scientists with demonstrated aptitude to

develop into independent investigators, or for faculty members to pursue research aspects of categorical areas applicable to the awarding unit, and aid in filling the academic faculty gap in these shortage areas within health profession's institutions of the country.

R01: Research ProjectsTo support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named

investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies.

R03: Research Projects - Small Research GrantsTo provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical

program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/ac_search_results.htm

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Proposal Development – General

Sponsor Instructions

• Read the Program Announcement / Instructions thoroughlySponsor’s policies and procedures – often additional linksReview Criteria

• NIH SF424 RR Guidelines and Forms http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm

BMC Grants Administration Websites

• Contains links to sponsor guidelines, internal forms, sponsor forms and instructions

• BMC Grants Administration:

http://internal.bmc.org/grants/pre_award.html

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Sponsor Requirements

The Sponsor’s Program Announcement (PA) or Research Funding Announcement (RFA), etc contain the following information:

• Paper or Electronic? When due?

• Required NIH FormsBiosketchOther Support(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm)

• Page Limitations

• BudgetTotal Cost Cap?Direct Cost Cap

• Review Criteria

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“Typical” Proposal Elements

• Cover page - PI contact info, title of proposal, funds requested, project duration, and signature lines

• Abstract - brief description of proposed project (usually 1 page)

• Narrative - detailed description of proposed project

• Personnel - CVs, biosketches, or paragraph-size descriptions

• Budget - annual costs of the project, using standard categories

• Budget justification - narrative explanation of how amounts were calculated and how funds will be used

• Supporting documents - letters of support and other items showing strength of partnerships, university commitments, etc.

• Other - management, diversity, outreach, and/or evaluation plans

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Institutional Requirements - Forms

• Proposal Summary Form

• Financial Conflict of Interest Form(s)

• Letters of Intent (Subcontractors)

• Rate Agreements

http://internal.bmc.org/grants/pre_forms.html

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BUDGETS

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• Translates resource needs to dollars

• Conforms to agency guidelines

• Estimates are realistic

• Supports the program

• Explains itself

• Plans ahead

• Identifies organizational concerns/issues

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Criteria of a Good Budget

Direct Costs

Direct costs are those costs that can be easily identified specifically with a

particular sponsored project, institutional activity, or that can be assigned to such

activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy. Identification with the sponsored work rather than the nature of

the goods and services involved is the determining factor in distinguishing direct

costs from indirect costs.

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Direct Costs – Salary

• 75 – 80% of Budget is Salary and Fringe Benefits

• Salary Cap: Legislatively mandated limitation of direct salary charges to an NIH grant, currently $181,500 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-14-043.html)

• Calculation of Salary Cost:

or

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Direct Costs - Fringe Benefits

BMC FB Rates BU FB Rates*

* BU FB Rates as of 07/01/2014; these are renegotiated each year

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FB Rates - Federal

10/01/12 31.2% BMC Staff

 

 

27.6% Professional24.9% Support StaffN/A Consultant9.5% Graduate Students

Non-Federal FB Rates

10/01/12 31.2% BMC Staff

29.2% Professional26.5% Support StaffN/A Consultant9.5% Graduate Students

Direct Cost Budget Categories

Consultants• BU and BMC employees can not be classified as “consultants” on a BMC grant proposal

– if BU employee, they can either be part of a subcontract (primarily working in BU space), or they can be listed in the Salary/FB budget category (primarily working in BMC space).

Capital Equipment• Greater than $5,000 in acquisition cost (capitalization threshold)• Sponsor often requires quote from equipment vendor

Travel• Information about per diem costs for travel (car mileage on a federal grant can be found

at:http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/100715; and http://internal.bmc.org/grants/policies_post/BMC-grants_travel.doc

Animal• Per diem costs for animals, and purchasing costs for different species can be found

at:http://www.bu.edu/animalcare/services/per-diem-rates/ and http://www.bu.edu/animalcare/services/animal-ordering/

Patient Care Costs• Pharmacy (Investigational Drug Service or IDS) and Inpatient/Outpatient Service

chargeshttp://internal.bmc.org/grants/ClinicalTrials.html

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Subcontractors vs. Consultants

• Subcontractor – A third-party organization that conducts a significant part of the research, assists in making programmatic decisions, and has deliverables to the final product.

• Consultant* – An individual who lends specific technical expertise and whose relationship with the project is of limited duration and scope.

* BMC employees can never be budgeted as consultants

Direct Cost – Subcontractors

Budget Considerations

• On subcontracts, only the first $25,000 is subject to the institution’s F&A Recovery (Indirect Costs).

• Consultants, Vendors and Purchase Orders are subject to full F&A Recovery (Indirect Costs).

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Direct Cost - Subcontractors

Documents required:

• Letter of Intent• Scope of Work• Budget & Budget Justification• Biosketch(es) (if sponsor requires)• Other Support (if sponsor requires)• DUNS number

For NIH Grants:

If direct cost budget is “capped”, the Indirect Costs for the subcontractor does not count toward the “direct cost cap”

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• Business Meals (non-travel)• Alcohol• Computer Supplies (paper, toner)• Copier Charges• Entertainment• Fixed Phone Charges• Maintenance of General Purpose Equipment• Membership and Dues• Office Supplies• Postage• Software (General Purpose)• Subscriptions

Direct Cost – Unallowable

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Modular Grants

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm

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BMC Indirect Costs

Indirect Costs or IDC = Facility and Administrative Costs (F&A) = Overhead

Federal Indirect Cost Rates

Research: 10/1/12 69.% on site 10/1/13 71% on site 10/1/14 74% on site

10/1/12 17.8% off-site

Clinical/Service/Edu./Other: 28% clinical/service/education

Training: 8% training

BMC calculates IDC using a “Modified Total Direct Cost” or MTDC method:

Direct Costs minus subcontract costs, equipment costs, patient care costs, tuition and fees costs = MTDC

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Modified total direct costs (MTDC), consisting of all salaries and wages,fringe benefits, materials, supplies, services, travel and sub-grants andsubcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each sub-grant or subcontract(regardless of the period covered by the sub-grant or subcontract).

Modified total direct costs shall exclude equipment, capital expenditures,charges for patient care, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities,as well as the portion of each sub-grant and subcontract in excess of

$25,000.

Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC)

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Indirect Costs Overview

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Costs that can not be directly

assigned to any one program

Grants and Contracts Administration

Utilities (lights, heat, etc)

Research Finance Administration

Accounts Payable

Purchasing

Human Resources

Building and Equipment Depreciation

Finance

House Keeping

Facility and Administration Allocations (F & A)

FACILITY COST POOLS

· Building Depreciation· Land/Building

Improvements· Equipment Depreciation· Operations and

Maintenance· Utilities

ADMINISTRATIVE COST POOLS

· General Administration· Hospital Services· Grants Administration· IACUC, IBC, IRB costs· Compliance Costs

F & A Allocations

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Questions?

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