Every proposal submitted to a sponsor should include a type of budget outlining the intended use of the funds. Total cost of the project should be made up of direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are those costs directly associated with the project and essential to the completion of the project. For budgets submitted to Federal sponsors, Uniform Guidance (UG) establishes principals for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements with institutions of higher education. See the link for Uniform Guidance below for more information.
Facilities and Administration (F&A) costs, also known as indirect costs, are the expenses incurred for general University operations while conducting a sponsored project. F&A rates are expressed as a percentage of direct costs. The applicable rate used on a sponsored project is determined by several factors, including activity type, on/off campus location, and sponsor requirements. For more information on F&A rates see below.
Things to consider when developing your budget:
SALARIES are established by the University. Multiple year budgets should include estimated salary increases. A 1.5-3% increase may be projected unless the sponsor specifies salary inflation rates. Principal Investigators are required to include at least 1% effort on every proposal. All effort expended by a PI and not covered by the sponsor will be charged to a discretionary account as cost sharing.
GRADUATE ASSISTANT STIPENDS are set by the departments.
FRINGE BENEFITS are applicable to all University salaries and wages. The University has negotiated a fringe benefit rate with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). When preparing a sponsored project proposal budget in Coeus, calculations for the sponsor’s contribution to employee fringe benefits should be computed using the fringe benefit rate found on the general budget form.
FACILITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS (F&A), also known as Indirect Costs, are the expenses incurred for general University operations while conducting a sponsored project. F&A rates are expressed as a percentage of direct costs. The University negotiates the rates approved for use with Federal grants, contracts and other agreements with the DHHS acting on behalf of all federal agencies. Federal F&A costs are calculated based on the project’s Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC). Be sure to apply the correct F&A percentage to each JHU fiscal year, as they may change from year to year.
MTDC = Total Direct Costs minus the following:
F&A rates for non-federal sponsors vary widely. F&A costs for private awards should be calculated on Total Direct Costs (TDC) unless the sponsor has written policies exempting certain line items from F&A.
University F&A Rates for FY2020-2023
| Name | On Campus | Off Campus |
| Research | 63.75% | 26% |
| Instruction | 50% | 26% |
| Other Sponsored Activities | 29.50% | 17% |
FOR NIH MODULAR APPLICATIONS, the applicant is not required to submit detailed budget information in the application. In lieu of the standard budget forms, the applicant requests total direct costs for each year of support requested. The request must be accompanied by budge narrative for all personnel (by position, title, and level of effort), including consultants and “to be appointed” positions, and, when applicable, for consortium/contractual costs. NIH will request additional budget information in exceptional circumstances only. Other support information will be requested only for modular applications likely to result in an award. An internal, line-item budget must be uploaded into Coeus.
Uniform Guidance describes the 3 different types of activities that may take place on a sponsored award: Organized Research, Instruction & Training or Other Sponsored Activities. Each activity type has its own associated F&A rate.
Organized Research is described as all research and development activities that are sponsored by Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations and which are separately budgeted and accounted for. This generally means there is a scope of work, a specific time frame, deliverables (whether technical or financial) that the University is obligated to deliver, and a specific budget and indirect cost recoveries. This term includes activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (commonly called research training) where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where such activities are not included in the Instruction function. Research activities include the rigorous inquiry, experiment, or investigation to increase the scholarly understanding of the involved discipline.
Examples of Organized Research include:
Sponsored Instruction is defined as teaching and training activities at JHU funded by grants and contracts from Federal or non-Federal sponsors. Sponsored Instruction includes agreements which support curriculum development as well as all types of teaching and training activities, whether offered for credit toward a degree or certificate, on a non-credit basis, through regular academic departments or by separate divisions, summer school or external division.
Examples of Instruction and Training include:
Other Sponsored Activities means programs and projects financed by Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations which involve the performance of work other than Instruction and Organized Research. Since most projects in this category do not directly involve students and gain little, if any, benefit from libraries, the F&A rate applicable to Other Sponsored Activities is less than the rate for Organized Research or Sponsored Instruction.
Examples of Other Sponsored Activities include:
In order for a project to be considered off campus, all three of the following qualifications must be met:
These qualifications are a fiscal determination based upon space utilization and it is not simply a definition of where some of the project work is being performed. If one University employee meets the above standards but the entire project does not, it may be acceptable to split the budget into on and off campus accounts. Contact ORA for a determination.
Off campus rates can only be used relative to the University’s effort expended on a project. Performance of work on project by non-university personnel are handled via a subcontract to another institution, which takes on campus F&A for the first $25,000, or a consulting agreement, which takes full F&A for the entire amount.
Johns Hopkins University
Research Administration
1101 E. 33rd Street, C310
Baltimore, MD 21218
(443) 927-3073
Email: jhura@jhu.eduSend an email to jhura@jhu.edu