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Research Feedback Form

 

Budget FAQs

Questions? Email sponprog2@kennesaw.edu.

  • Indirect costs represent the cost of doing business that are not readily identified with the direct costs (salary, materials, travel etc.,). And indirect rate is a mechanism for determining, fairly and conveniently, what proportions of departmental/organizations administration costs each grant/project/program should bear. KSU has negotiated with our cognizant federal agency (Health and Human Services) to determining our campus indirect rate.

    *NOTE: Some non-profit organizations and private foundations cap indirect rates or do not allow them at all. When developing your budget, always make sure to identify the sponsors policy on indirect costs.

  • Kennesaw State University’s federally negotiated indirect rate is 44% for on-campus work and 26% for off campus work.

  • KSU fringe rates are set every year. See https://research.kennesaw.edu/sponprog/preaward-planning/budget.php (under Budget Elements) for current fringe rates for faculty, staff, and students. 

  • The Graduate College oversees the graduate assistantship program at KSU. Please click here for more information regarding the process. 

  • All personnel involved in a sponsored project effort, including students (research assistants), must be paid in accordance with University and state guidelines.

    Please click here for additional information on how to hire a student assistant for your project.

  • Direct costs must follow the usual guidelines of being reasonable, allocable, and applicable. While each Principal Investigator (PI) should double check with Sponsored Programs to answer any questions on allowability, the follow costs are generally allowable on federal grants:

    • Salary for PI, Co-Investigator (Co-I), senior personnel, students (some restrictions apply i.e NIH salary cap, NSF 2-month effort limit)
    • Fringe
    • Materials and Supplies
    • Travel
    • Consultants
    • Subawards
    • Participant support (Please check with Sponsored Programs before budgeting these.)
    • Publications

  • The amount of salary charged to a grant is based on the base salary of each PI, co-PI, senior personnel etc., and the amount of effort they plan to put towards the project. Person months is the metric for expressing the effort devoted to a project. The effort is based on the type of appointment of the individual with the organization i.e. calendar year (CY), academic year (AY) or summer term (SM).

  • Cost share/matching is an amount of money that is included in the budget that is not coming from the sponsor. Sometimes this is a mandatory part of the application and other times it is just strongly encouraged. (KSU does not encourage or allow voluntary cost share when it is not a required part of the application.)

    Sources for cost-sharing may include department funds, other campus funds, uncompensated effort on the part of the PI, Co-I, etc., and/or other grant funds. If you plan to include cost share in your proposal, please notify your chair, dean and Sponsored Programs as soon as possible to ensure you receive the proper approvals in time.

  • Yes, the Office of Research, particularly Sponsored Programs Administration, is happy to help with developing budgets. If you have any questions or would like to work with a Pre-Award Grants & Contracts Manager to develop your budget, please email preaward@kennesaw.edu.

  • The costs of travel for personnel to conduct research or attend conferences, presentations, or workshops in performance of the project are an important component of many budgets. Reference the policies available at the following websites according to destination. All business travelers should review Kennesaw State University’s travel regulations.

    You can also contact Jonathan Coker, director of research operations in the Office of Research, via email jcoker13@kennesaw.edu if you have additional questions. 

  • No, overload pay cannot be budgeted into applications/proposals.

 

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