What is cost sharing?

• UW Definition: “Cost sharing is the portion of total costs of a sponsored project that is borne by the UW, rather than the sponsor.”

Office of Extramural Support

Slide 1

What is cost sharing?

Mandatory

Voluntary

Institutional

Mandatory; required by the Sponsor

Critical to support the research enterprise

Offered “just because”

Unavoidable

Institutional

Examples: NIH Salary Cap cost sharing, PI’s minimum 1%

Example: Small awards where PI’s salary would be too great a portion of the awarded amount


Three Types of Cost Sharing

Slide 2

Problem Statement

• As an institution, we often do not meet our objectives• Breakdowns occur at every point of the process and lead to:

– Excessive voluntary committed cost sharing– Failure to fulfill our commitments or prove that we’ve done so– Incomplete, incorrect, and inconsistent information in tracking

systems– A risk of negative audit outcomes– A reduced F&A rate– Thousands of person-hours spent on reactive problem-solving every

year

• Faculty and staff are confused and frustrated


Slide 3

Observations

• The amount, nature and impact of the UW’s cost sharing data is incomplete and indeterminate.

• The current situation offers no definitions, roles, responsibilities, policies, or procedures which causes the inconsistencies, frustrations and breakdowns we witnessed

• The large amount of variation within the process showed us the objective of this project is not to increase throughput or reduce processing time, but to reduce the variation


Slide 4

Cost Sharing Policy


Slide 5

Cost Sharing Policy

• Generally, UW’s policy is to minimize institutional and 3rd party cost sharing on sponsored projects

• Approval of voluntary committed cost sharing rests with the Dean’s or Director’s office

• Allowed when mandated or necessary to reflect accurately the resources that must be expended to accomplish the project objectives.

• Each Division may have their own requirements in addition to this policy.


Slide 6

Cost Sharing Policy

• Researchers who engage in sponsored projects will: • Comply with University and sponsoring agency regulations

regarding proposing, charging, and reporting of cost sharing.

• Policy applies to both federal and non-federal sponsored projects.


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Cost Sharing Policy

• Who approves cost sharing?• Dean’s/Director’s Office


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Cost Sharing Policy

• What are the cost sharing impacts?• Institution redirects resources to support specific scientific project

beyond the funding level provided by the sponsor.• Potential limitations to programmatic, administrative and financial

capabilities to the researcher and University• Reduces flexibility of researchers to conduct other research by

obligating effort • Increasing requirements for capturing, monitoring and documenting

commitments and expenditures• Decreases the University’s recovery of indirect costs


Slide 9

Cost Sharing Guidance

Office of Extramural SupportSlide 10


• When is it appropriate to offer voluntary cost share?• To meet OMB requirements for minimum commitment of PI effort on

sponsored projects (1% minimum at UW)• To support investigator on an award for which the total direct costs

are a small dollar amount• To respond to clear indication from the sponsor that cost sharing will

increase competitiveness of a specific proposal• To establish an institutional commitment for certain federal agencies

(NEH, NEA) that use cost sharing to demonstrate the leveraging effect of federal funding



• When is it appropriate to offer voluntary cost share?• To provide institutional support for a project that is significant in

scope and vital to the campus mission• To support an institutional investment in a pioneering project with

potential significant future sponsored funding• To secure sponsored funding for an individual or department in a

research discipline in which access to extramural funding is inherently limited


Slide 12


• What are alternatives to voluntary cost sharing?• Offer resources without making a specific and quantifiable

commitment.• Limit number of explicit commitments

• Ex: “PI X will oversee all aspects of the project. University resources are available as needed for the performance of the sponsored project at no direct cost to the project”


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• What should be offered to meet a cost sharing requirement?• Consider two criteria:

• Is there a new cost to the university?• Is there a significant burden for documentation or audit?


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• Preferred mechanisms for cost sharing• UW salaries and fringe benefits• F&A costs associated with any cost shared direct expense• Unrecovered F&A costs due to a lowered or waived F&A rate• Third party cash contributions


Slide 15


• Acceptable, but not preferred mechanisms for cost sharing• Purchase price of equipment being acquired by the UW• Travel expenses• Tuition or tuition remission• Supplies• Volunteer effort, whether coordinated by the university or a third

party• In-kind contributions from non-UW third parties


Slide 16

Cost Sharing Key Ideas for Dean’s Offices


Slide 17

Cost Sharing: Key Ideas for Dean’s Offices

• Cost sharing may be required, but there are drawbacks for the university and PI.

• University seeks to minimize cost sharing when possible• Voluntary committed cost sharing is discouraged. Although,

there may be instances where it’s appropriate.• There are alternatives to voluntary committed cost sharing.• Cost sharing should be reviewed at the time of proposal

submission or when a change is made. Final approval of cost sharing resides with the Dean or Director.


Slide 18

Cost Sharing: Key Ideas for Dean’s Offices

• If cost sharing must be approved, preferred mechanisms are based on: a) is there a new cost to the university? and b) is there a significant burden for documentation or audit?

• All cost sharing contributions should be explicitly identified in the proposal budget

• The PI is expected to identify cost sharing items, identifying a funding source for each, and seek approval for cost sharing via the Dean’s or Director’s office

• Colleges/Schools may wish to create forms and formal processes for submitting and reviewing requests to cost share.


Slide 19

Cost Sharing Key Ideas for PIs


Slide 20

Cost Sharing: Key Ideas for PIs

• Minimize cost sharing when possible.

• Cost sharing regulations derived from OMB Circulars. Standards apply to federal and non-federal sponsored projects.

• Non-compliance brings risk of penalties, up to suspension or termination of awards.

• Voluntary committed cost sharing is discouraged, unless appropriate.

• Alternatives to voluntary committed cost sharing exist.


Slide 21

Cost Sharing: Key Ideas for PIs

• Cost sharing should be reviewed at proposal or when change occurs.

• Dean or director makes final approval of cost sharing.

• Cost sharing contributions should be explicitly identified in the proposal budget.

• PI should identify cost sharing items and identify a source for each prior to seeking approval from the Dean’s or Director’s office.

• Cost sharing commitments cannot be changed without prior sponsor approval.


Slide 22

Award Setup


Slide 23

• At award setup, OES will enter information into the Projects tab in PeopleSoft Grants

• After setup, this information is visible in WISDM.


Slide 24

Award Setup

Cost Sharing Documentation


Slide 25

Cost Sharing & Commitment Updates Form & Instructions


Managing, tracking, documenting cost sharing

• For payroll cost sharing, campus will submit form if: – Missing rows (i.e., was never scheduled)– Corrections to percentage, dates, source funding, etc. – Personnel changes

• For non-payroll, campus will submit form after transaction has occurred

• For third party, campus will submit form for goods and services used to meet obligation


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How update forms will be handled


Slide 28

• All forms will be sent to the Office of Extramural Support (after all appropriate signatures have been obtained)

• Forms will be reviewed and if there are questions, Dean’s/Director’s office will be contacted for further clarification

• Data will be entered into the cost share bolt-on

Monitoring and reporting of cost share

• Accountants will draw information from WISDM for invoices and financial reports


Slide 29

Cost Share Example 1State agency award @ 10%In-kind personal3rd partyUnfunded

Grant UWEX Match Third Party Match TotalSalary 22,390 16,342 2,503 41,235Fringe Benefits 8,902 6,537 1,469 16,908Supplies and Expenses 9,618 9,618

Direct Costs Subtotal 40,910 22,879 3,972 67,761Indirects 10% 4,090 4,090Match indirects 7,321 1,828 9,149Unreimbursed indirects 9,000 9,000(32% - 10%)

Total 45,000 39,200 5,800 90,000


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Cost Share Example 2State agency award @ 15%Unfunded F&A

Grant UWEX Match TotalSalary 28,500 28,500Fringe Benefits (38.5%) 10,973 10,973Travel 1,000 1,000Supplies & Expense 1,000 1,000Other (copies, telephone, other communication costs)

500 500

Direct Costs Subtotal 41,973 0 41,973Nonfederal unreimbursed Indirect Charges (11% of WCMP request is $4,617 of which $2,612 will be used as match)

0 2,612 2,612

Indirect Charges (15% of WCMP request) 6,296 6,296Total 48,269 2,612 50,881


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Key Comments

• Type of cost share is crucial for set up. • If not mandatory, considered voluntary, committed.• At time of award, verification from sponsor will be needed.

• If cost share is quantified, will be considered “voluntary, committed”.• Must be tracked in the cost share system.• May have to report if requested by sponsor.

• Deans’/Directors’ effort cannot be included as cost share

• UW-Extension does not use the cost share toolkit mentioned in the guidelines


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• Questions?


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Documents

What is cost sharing?