IRTL Grants & Fellowships Workshop Series

Part II: Budget Preparation for Research Projects

Institute for Research on Teaching and Learning

Doctoral Student Research Support

February 2015

Dr. Marcy Wallace, Associate Director

wallacem@msu.edu

Megan Drangstveit, Graduate Assistant

mdrangst@msu.edu

Institute for Research on Teaching & Learning

Audience members…

Introductions

Institute for Research on Teaching & Learning

IRTL supports doctoral students in the College of Education by enhancing their knowledge of funding opportunities and grant writing.

We are available to discuss funding opportunities; assist in conceptualizing, writing, and revising a grant proposal; or assist in preparing a competitive budget request.

http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad

What is IRTL?

1. Learn how education researchers develop a project budget.

2. Understand what funding agencies view as legitimate expenses of research.

3. Identify resources to help with budget creation.

4. View sample budgets.

5. Create your own project budget.

Learning Objectives

• Grants allow for more time dedicated to your research

• Professional development opportunity

• Shows ability to prepare grants for academic job applications

Why is budget preparation important?

Audience Poll (think, pair, share)

Budget Basics

• Many funders provide mandatory budget forms that must be submitted with the proposal. Others specify the budget categories that they will approve.

• The following budget categories are commonly used. These are general guidelines.

• For specific proposals, please consult the agency's request for proposal (RFP).

Typical Budget Categories

Stipend (i.e. salary)

• Stipend rates and ranges can be calculated using

information from Michigan State’s Human Resources

Department. Always include as the first line-item.

• Ranges, MSUHR:

http://www.hr.msu.edu/hiring/studentemployment/

gradasst/stipendRanges.htm

• Rates:

http://education.msu.edu/resources/documents/Gra

duate-stipend-rates.pdf

Direct Costs: Personnel

Undergraduate student• You may choose to hire an undergraduate student

(e.g. to manually enter data).

Tuition and Fees• Tuition and fees can be calculated using Michigan

State’s tuition and fees calculator: http://www.ctlr.msu.edu/COStudentAccounts/TuitionCalculatorFall.aspx

Direct Costs: Personnel

Faculty Advisor’s Salary

• Buying out your faculty advisor's time may be necessary if

your advisor serves as a primary investigator or co-PI to

the project.

• Person months vs % of effort

Interpreter

• For example, hiring an interpreter for international

projects.

• * This could be filed under an “Other” category, depending

on institutional/funder guidelines.

Direct Costs: Personnel

Health Insurance

• Health insurance can be calculated using Michigan State’s graduate student stipend information.

• http://www.hr.msu.edu/hiring/studentemployment/gradasst/stipendRanges.htm

Fringe Benefits

• If faculty support is required, you may need to add fringe benefits:

• https://cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/DocumentViewer.aspx?cga=aQBkAD0AOQA1AA==

Direct Costs:Employee Benefits

Supplies

• List any special items that will be consumed by the project, such as office supplies; video/audio tapes. All items should be listed separately and based upon current prices.

Copying & Printing

• Estimate the number of photocopies to be made by the project and compute the cost based upon the current prices.

Transcription Fees

Postage

• Estimate the number of items to be sent by first class and/or bulk rate and compute the expected cost.

Communications

• Phone cards for use on international trips, renting a satellite phone, etc.

Incentives for Participants

• Offering gift cards, refreshments for focus groups, etc.

Direct Costs:Supplies & Services

Travel

• All travel needs to be itemized, such as specific

trips to research sites or conferences. Airfare rates

can be obtained from airlines directly. Mileage

to/from sites can be determined with Michigan

State's published mileage rates.

• MSU: http://ctlr.msu.edu/combp/ex70a.aspx

Direct Costs: Travel

Lodging/Meals

• Lodging costs can be obtained from hotels directly. Food

costs can be computed from Michigan State's per diem

allowances or the U.S. State Department's Foreign Per

Diem Rates by Location.

• MSU: http://ctlr.msu.edu/combp/ex70a.aspx

• DeptOfState: http://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp

Other

• Additional costs for items such as tips, taxi, parking, and

conference rooms should be included.

Direct Costs: Travel

Equipment/Technology

• All equipment purchases must be itemized with current market prices listed.

• Some funding organizations do not allow the purchase of equipment, others require specific approval for equipment purchases, and others require equipment be turned over to the funding agency at the end of the grant period.

• MSU guidelines: <$5,000 is considered a supply, which may differ than agency guidelines.

Direct Costs: Equipment

Expenses of doing business that are necessary for the operation of the organization or program and activities it performs.

• Costs such as heat, light, trash and snow removal, accounting –

• IDC rates are used to distribute these costs

• IDC are real expenses that afford the grantor access to your services

For indirect cost percentages, visit Michigan State’s Current Facilities & Administrative Cost Rates: http://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/DocumentViewer.aspx?cga=aQBkAD0AMQA2ADUA

Most graduate student research grant programs do not allow indirect costs.

What do you think MSU’s IDC rate is?

(53.5%)

Indirect costs (IDC)?

• Travel (mileage to/from research sites; gasoline; conferences; international trips; car rental; etc.)

• Lodging/Meals• Software• Health insurance• Recruiting subjects• Research Assistant salary• Interpreter (e.g., for international

projects)• Undergraduate student hourly pay

(general—includes teachers, etc., working on the project)

• Printing• Equipment/Technology (software; A/V

equipment)• Supplies (e.g., stationery; video/audio

tapes)

• Tech support (e.g., processing statistics)

• Services (e.g., mentor)• Postage/telephone/fax/internet charges• Transcription• Publication/Dissemination of findings• Incentives (participants/subjects)• Stipend (i.e., salary)• Training• Tuition and fees• Advisor? (i.e., her summer and/or

academic year salary—calculated by % of faculty time dedicated to the project, e.g., 25%). May be necessary if advisor serves as Primary Investigator or co-PI to project.

• Indirect costs (i.e., “overhead”)

What are Possible allowable project expenses? *

* These are general guidelines. For individualized assistance with questions on expenses allowed by a particular funding agency, please consult IRTL staff and agency guidelines.

How to Prepare a Budget

• Well-planned budgets reflect carefully thought-out projects.

• Budgets are road maps showing how your project will be implemented and managed.

Prepare Your Budget

Most funding organizations require that a proposed budget be based upon a good faith estimate of the anticipated costs. Three things to keep in mind in preparing your budget:

• Is it necessary? Is it required to successfully complete the project?

• Is it allowable? Is it permitted within the application guidelines or has it been explicitly approved by the funding agency? Only include things the funder is willing to support.

• Is it reasonable? Does the amount reflect a prudent estimate of the costs? Cost estimates cannot be made up. They must have a reasonable basis. Project your expenses as accurately as possible. If required, properly estimate cost-sharing to meet the requirements.

Prepare Your Budget

• Many applicants struggle to prepare a competitive budget request.

• > Some people inflate the budget because they are concerned that the funding agency will cut the proposed budget and give them less than they need for their project.

• < Other people ask way too little because they think cost-conscious reviewers will be impressed with an extremely low, bare-bones budget proposal – and a lower budget might increase their chances to be awarded the grant.

• Neither approach is effective!• Reviewers know what things cost.

Too Much or Too Little?

• Include your time as a level of % effort (at MSU), instead of hours or months

• Make certain the budget adds up correctly

• Put commas in numbers, easier to read (e.g., $1,000)

• Use a column format, numbers align on right/at periods

• Label all budget categories, leave nothing blank

• Be realistic about the time you can commit, if you have 3 projects at 50% time and they are all funded, you’re in trouble!

Budget tips

• If you tend to be a cost-conscious person, remember the funder can choose to negotiate costs.

• They may draw a line through an item they choose not to fund OR provide partial funding of your total budget request.

• In other words, don’t hesitate to let them know what you really need to do the project well!

Funder discretion

Although you may prepare the budget last, remember many reviewers look at the budget first!

Reviewers

Jane Geever, author of The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, conducted interviews with a number of grantmakers and found that many do, in fact, consider the budget to be the best way to get a feel for the project without a lot of verbiage and hype.

When asked the question,

"How do you usually read a grant request?"

here's what some of the respondents said:

Reviewers

Source: The Foundation Centerhttp://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/prop_budgt/pbb_review.html

"I look at the budget. Over the years I've learned that narrative can be enriching, but the numbers are stark and straightforward. I want to see that the money is doing the job described in the proposal."

Joel Orosz W.K. Kellogg Foundation

"How do you usually read a grant request?"

"I skip around the document in the following way: first the budget, to see if the request is appropriate and to see the agency's financials; then the project section, to see what they want to accomplish; then the board list."

Lynn Pattillo The Pittulloch Foundation, Inc.

"How do you usually read a grant request?"

"I often look at the budget and then read the proposal backwards."

Michael Gilligan The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc.

"How do you usually read a grant request?"

How to Manage a Grant

Student: Comes up with great idea & application

Faculty/Department/College: Assists with application preparation; May fund this great idea or put forth application to larger competition; Dept. may manage smaller awards.

IRTL: Assists with application preparation

== Larger awards only beyond this point / Faculty research support ==

• Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP): Pre-award management

• Contract and Grant Administration (CGA): Post-award management

MSU Grant Management Basics

There are two primary ways to receive most grant awards:

1. Personally / direct

2. Through the university

You will likely be taxed on any awards that you receive personally. If run the award through Michigan State University or your department, the university will withhold taxes when necessary.

If award is >$25,000, student will be considered in-state for tuition purposes.

Income Tax (though we are not tax advisors)

Things to ConsiderIf handled through MSU:• Cannot pay for personal groceries, but can pay

for participant food (no matter the funder’s guidelines/approval).

• We encourage negotiating the budget up front –there are certain ways to list items in the budget in order to use the funds.

• Will be processed with a faculty advisor name, not yours, in order to obtain an account number.

• It may take a while.• Must have Human Subjects complete in order to

obtain an account number.• Pay will occur like typical graduate student pay

checks.• Can charge against your account, even if

payments are scheduled installments.

If paid directly to student:• You can use the

money when you want.

• May have to wait for installments.

• May need to make arrangements through your department for managing funds.

Sample Budgets

It may be helpful to review examples of budgets and budget descriptions for AAUW, AERA, AIR, Fulbright, NSF, and Spencer

IRTL samples & examples:

• http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/pdf/IRTL_BudgetSamples.pdf

Prepare Your Budget

Budget Guidelines - AAUW

“Budget –information is required for administrative and U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) purposes. Failure to itemize your budget will result in disqualification. AAUW records are subject to IRS audit and must reflect appropriate planned use of funds.”

There is no specific format for the budget section. Funds may be used for tuition and/or institutional fees, living expenses, equipment, professional travel, books, supplies, computing time, etc. The proposed budget must include travel funds to attend the next AERA Annual Meeting.

Budget Guidelines - AERA

Sample Budget – AERA/AIR

• Travel expenses, including excess baggage to and from the residence of the fellow to the host country of research.

• Maintenance and dependents allowances based on the cost of living in country(ies) of research for the fellow and his or her dependent(s).

• Project allowance for research related expenses such as books, copying, tuition and affiliation fees, local travel and other incidental expenses.

• Health and accident insurance premiums.• $100.00 administrative fee to applicant

institution.• Dependent allowances should either be for

the same time period as the research, or justification included for different timing.

• Research assistants (i.e., students at collaborating institutions) are not appropriate for doctoral research.

• Transcription of survey responses should be done by the student, no transcribers.

• Equipment or materials with a life expectancy beyond the life of the grant are not allowable.

Sample Budget - Fulbright

• In general, grants are awarded for up to 24 months.

• Funds are to be used exclusively for the necessary expenses incurred in the actual conduct of the dissertation research.

• These funds may not be used as a stipend for the student, for tuition, textbooks, journals, or for the typing, reproduction, or publication costs of the student's dissertation.

• Although stipends are not permitted, an allowance for expenses during time away from the student's U.S. academic institution may be allowed.

• Funds may be requests for research assistants only in special circumstances, which should be carefully justified. Many of the limitations are program specific.

• Please consult the relevant program’s website and contact the program assistant or director if necessary.

Budget Limitations – NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants

The Graduate School and the college support more than 20 students each year, providing a $6,000 fellowship which allows students to devote considerable time to completing their dissertations.

Recipients may hold a maximum of a quarter-time assistantship during the award semester.

Doctoral students are notified, via the Ph.D. listserv, of the application process and submission deadlines.

Applications are submitted to the student's department in fall (for the upcoming spring or summer), and include one letter of nomination/support from the director of the dissertation that attends to the following: it reaffirms the approval of the proposal, testifies to the dissertation's strengths, and to the likelihood of completion before the end of summer. The letter must include a timeline for completion, with major benchmarks, and should indicate the way in which the award will help release time to complete the dissertation.

Budget Guidelines – CoEd Dissertation Completion Fellowships

This fellowship provides financial support for advanced doctoral students who have projected or incurred expenses relevant to data collection for their dissertation or research practicum.

Deadline: Typically Oct/Nov, varies by department.

Award: $1,000-4,000, varies by department.

Allowable research expenses vary by department, but may include:• Testing/validating original survey instruments with focus groups or in cognitive labs• Acquiring a commercially available instrument that will be given to a new population• Providing incentives to schools to encourage participation of faculty, staff, and students (e.g.,

donation to a library/media center)• Providing direct incentives to interview or survey participants (i.e., gift card to a book store)• Offering refreshments or tokens of appreciation to focus groups (i.e., MSU t-shirts for high school

students who participate in focus groups)• Funding postage/mailing/copying costs for hard copy surveys or to purchase an online survey

hosting account• Travel to data collection sites• Equipment such as digital recorders or transcription machines• Data entry/transcription labor costs

Applicants should include a one-paragraph summary of your project's needs and a detailed budget for anticipated expenses.

CoEd Research Practicum / Research Development Fellowship (RP/D)

Resources

IRTL budget preparation: http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/budget.asp

IRTL budget samples: http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/pdf/IRTL_BudgetSamples.pdf

GA rates: http://education.msu.edu/resources/documents/Graduate-stipend-rates.pdf

GA ranges; Health insurance (MSU HR): http://www.hr.msu.edu/hiring/studentemployment/gradasst/stipendRanges.htm

Fringe benefits: https://cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/DocumentViewer.aspx?cga=aQBkAD0AOQA1AA==

MSU tuition calculator: http://ctlr.msu.edu/COStudentAccounts/TuitionCalculator.aspx

MSU mileage rates; Per Diem rates: http://ctlr.msu.edu/combp/ex70a.aspx

State Department Foreign Per Diem: http://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp

MSU current facilities & administrative cost rates: http://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/DocumentViewer.aspx?cga=aQBkAD0AMQA2ADUA

Links from today

• Workshops, sessions for groups and classes• Overview of grants & fellowships; Grant proposal

writing; Budget development; RCR; and more!

• One-on-one consultation (mdrangst@msu.edu)• in person, over the phone, Skype/FaceTime, email

• Web resources (http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/)• Sample proposals, budgets, timelines, resources

• Monthly newsletters (sign up on our website)• Announcements, workshops, resources, funding

opportunities

• Facebook updates (facebook.com/MSUIRTL)

What does IRTL do?

Please join us for other workshops in this Grants and Fellowships series:

How to Write a Competitive Grant Application

• Thursday, March 26, 1-3 p.m., 252 Erickson

Planning Ahead for 2015-2016 (and Beyond)

• Friday, April 10, 1-2 p.m., 252 Erickson

Upcoming events

KIN 895 Research Ethics, 1 cr. course, Summer 2015

Identifying and resolving ethical problems in research. Collegial interactions. Authorship, publication, and reviewing practices. Data management. Ownership of data and intellectual property. Conflicts of interest. Protection of human and animal subjects. Lab safety and compliance.

• T/W/H May 12-14, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

• Counts toward RCR requirements for 2014-2015

• Interdepartmental course with CEP, EAD, TE. If you wish to have your enrollment in this course appear on your record as CEP 895 or EAD 895 or TE 895, enroll in this section and then contact the CEP or EAD or TE department when this class is completed.

Upcoming events

• Workshop topic ideas

• Web and newsletter content suggestions

• New award information

• Updates on your grant/fellowship applications

• Corrections on typos, spelling, and grammar.

We are always excited for

Institute for Research on Teaching and Learning2nd Floor, Erickson Hallhttp://education.msu.edu/irtl/gradhttps://www.facebook.com/MSUIRTLhttp://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/Subscribe.asp

Bob Floden, Director, floden@msu.edu

Marcy Wallace, Associate Director, wallacem@msu.edu

Megan Drangstveit, Graduate Assistant, mdrangst@msu.edu (201C Erickson Hall)

IRTL – Doctoral Student Research Support