The following budget templates are provided to assist you with your budget preparation and can be modified as necessary.  Please note these are internal templates and may need to be transferred to the appropriate sponsor budget forms.

F&A Rates

FY2024 F&A Rates	From	To	Rate(%)	Location	Base
Predetermined	July 1, 2021	June 30, 2022	64.0%	On campus	Research
Predetermined	July 1, 2022	June 30, 2023	64.5%	On campus	Research
Predetermined	July 1, 2023	June 30, 2024	66.0%	On campus	Research
Predetermined	July 1, 2024	June 30, 2025	66.5%	On campus	Research
Predetermined	July 1, 2021	June 30, 2025	26.0%	Off campus	Research
Predetermined	July 1, 2021	June 30, 2022	54.0%	On campus	Instruction
Predetermined	July 1, 2022	June 30, 2025	55.0%	On campus	Instruction
Predetermined	July 1, 2021	June 30, 2025	26.0%	Off campus	Instruction
Predetermined	July 1, 2021	June 30, 2022	38.0%	On campus	Other Sponsored Activity
Predetermined	July 1, 2022	June 30, 2025	38.5%	On campus	Other Sponsored Activity
Predetermined	July 1, 2021	June 30, 2025	26.0%	Off campus	Other Sponsored Activity
Provisional	July 1, 2025	Until Amended	Same as above

 

Fringe Benefit Rates

Fringe benefit costs are recovered as a direct charge on grants as a percentage of salaries and wages.  The fringe benefit rates are determined annually based on the actual versus projected experience of the close out year and the projected costs for fringe benefits in the current year.  Fringe benefit rates for the current year, and up-coming year if available, are:

2024 Research Fringe Benefit Rates	Faculty, Staff, & Postdocs	Grad Assist	Special Payroll
Employee Class	All Excluding S/U/X/Z	S	U/X/Z
Retirement	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Medical/dental insurance	20.1%	7.5%	2.2%
Social Security – FICA	6.2%	6.2%	6.2%
Social Security – Medicare	1.5%	1.5%	1.5%
Unemployment Compensation	0.0%	0.0%	-0.1%
Workers’ Compensation	0.8%	0.8%	0.8%
Life, LTD, Separation, and Sabbatical	1.4%	0.0%	0.0%
Federal Carry-forward	0.0%	-9.7%	0.7%
Forecast	-0.3%	6.7%	-1.3%
FY2024 Fringe Rate	29.6%	13.0%	10.0%
Rates for budgeting	32.0%	15.0%	12.0%

The University’s F & A Agreement, negotiated with the Department of Health and Human Services, F&A and FB Rate Agreement.

Modified total direct costs, consisting of all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel and up to the first $25,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award).  Modified total direct costs shall exclude equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000.  Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs, and with the approval of the cognizant agency for indirect costs.

Guidance on the Use of Off Campus Indirect Cost Rate

In accordance with our current F&A Rate Agreement:

For all activities performed in facilities not owned by the institution and to which rent is directly allocated to the project(s), the off campus rate will apply. Grants or contracts will not be subject to more than one F & A rate.  If more than 50% of a project is performed off campus, the off campus rate will apply to the entire project.

The off campus indirect cost rate can be budgeted as follows:

• If rent is directly charged to the project.
• If more than 50% of all program activities are performed off campus (we request written confirmation from the PI).
• If the sponsor specifically requires the off campus rate per the solicitation.

The on campus rate is normally applied whenever the University leases and pays for space costs that are not direct charged to a grant or contract.

Reduction of F&A on Projects Having a Total Cost of $50k or Less

To allow for more buying power on small sponsored projects and to help foster smaller awards which may lead to additional funding, F&A on new awards received after October 1, 2017 with total costs of $50,000 or less, will be reduced to 20% or the difference between the full F&A rate and 20% will be distributed to the investigators F&A account.

Sponsored Program Services (SPS) has developed guidance and FAQs on how this program will be implemented.

The schedule of fees contained in this section is comprehensive and is expected to prevail during the current academic year, but the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors for Higher Education reserve the right, at any time, to authorize changes in fees and to establish new fees applicable to all currently enrolled students.

The fees and tuition for the current academic year are located on the Bursar’s Office website.

• A 3% annual increase should be applied to salary for all personnel for each budget period.

DHHS Salary Cap

Effective January 1, 2024, the DHHS salary limitation for Executive Level 2 was increased to $221,900. For additional information, please refer to NIH Notice: NOT-OD-24-057.  Note that this salary cap applies to all DHHS agencies.

Graduate Assistants

The graduate assistant stipend for UConn Health students is $34,000.  If applying for an individual fellowship or training grant from NIH, refer to the NRSA requirements for stipend, tuition, and institutional allowance.

Post-Doctoral Stipends

• Below are the current National Research Service Award (NRSA) Post Doctoral stipend levels that should be taken into consideration when preparing your proposal budget. These stipend levels must be used when applying to the NRSA for support. Current stipend levels can also be found on the NIH website.
• Use of the stipend level which is consistent with the intended postdoctoral years of experience is recommended for use with other support sources.

 

Years of Experience	Stipend
0	$56,484
1	$56,880
2	$57,300
3	$59,592
4	$61,572
5	$63,852
6	$66,228
7+	$68,604

 

 

The development and assembly of the various components of the proposal as well as complying with sponsor and institutional requirements is a shared relationship between the Principal Investigator, their academic unit and Dean’s office, and the Sponsored Program Services. The following chart summarizes the distribution of responsibilities.

 

Proposal Preparation Responsibility	PI/Dept.	Dept. Head/ Dean/ Director/ VPR	SPS
Identifies appropriate funding opportunities	X
Reads proposal solicitation for requirements	X
Prepares full proposal as required by the sponsor (including all sponsor required forms)	X
Requests and documents approval and certification for Cost Share	X	X
Completes Internal Proposal Review form (IPR) and Cost Share Approval form as appropriate and routes form(s) for signatures	X
Completes significant financial interest disclosure form (SFID) and routes to Sponsored Program Services	X
Develops budget and justification to accomplish proposed scope of work	X
Provides initial proposal elements to SPS no later than 5 business days in advance of sponsor deadline (minimum requirements to initiate review: Completed internal forms, proposal guidelines, itemized budget, detailed budget justification)	X
Revises and corrects proposal after SPS review; provides revised/corrected documents to Pre-Award Services	X
Works with the Purchasing Office to develop Small Business/Minority Subcontracting Plan if required	X

 

Review and Approval Responsibility	PI/Dept.	Dept. Head/ Dean/ Director/ VPR	SPS
Assures proposed project is appropriate and consistent with departmental and institutional mission		X
Assures proposed project has qualified personnel and adequate space		X
Indicates approval of draft proposal by signing IPRF Certifications		X
Approves and certifies Cost Share for the Department, School or College		X
Reviews IPRF for content and completion			X
Reviews SFID and forwards for further inquiry/action if appropriate			X
Evaluates and approves required and voluntary Cost Share for the University			X
Reviews budget for appropriate Salaries, Fringe Benefits, Tuition, Indirect/F&A, and projected escalations; checks calculations for accuracy			X
Reviews initial proposal elements and requests outstanding documents			X
Reviews proposal for compliance with sponsor requirements and provides feedback			X
Approves proposal, serves as authorized signatory and institutional representative			X

 

Submission and Post-Submission Responsibility	PI/Dept.	Dept. Head/ Dean/ Director/ VPR	SPS
Submits approved hardcopy (paper) proposal to sponsor. Submits approved electronic proposal if sponsor allows e-submisson by PI/Dept.	X
Submits approved electronic proposal to sponsor if sponsor requires e-submission by institutional representative			X
Submits Small Business/Minority Subcontracting Plan			X
Maintains proposal pending files and database			X
Prepares Post-Submission Sponsor Request materials (Just-In-Time information, revised budgets, additional forms, etc.) and submits to SPS	X
Reviews Post-Submission Sponsor Request materials, provides feedback, submits final materials to sponsor			X

Revised 01/24/2024

Proposal Review Process

1. The Sponsored Program Services (SPS) Pre-Award Administrative Program Coordinator compiles the proposal materials and date/time stamps as received.
2. In order of receipt, the SPS Pre-Award Administrative Program Coordinator enters the proposal information into InfoEd and forwards to the Pre-Award Project Officer.
3. The SPS Pre-Award Project Officer reviews the proposal materials to ensure compliance with institutional and sponsor policies.
4. When the proposal review has been completed, the SPS Pre-Award Project Officer informs the principal investigator and/or department administrator of any changes to be made.  It is the responsibility of the principal investigator and/or department administrator to make the changes.
5. The SPS Pre-Award Project Officer forwards the proposal to the University’s authorized representative for review, approval and signature.
6. For paper proposals or electronic submissions by the principal investigator, SPS returns the signed forms to the principal investigator or department administrator.  It is the responsibility of the principal investigator or department administrator to submit the final proposal to the sponsor.  A full copy of the proposal should be forwarded to SPS.
7. For electronic submissions by SPS, the Pre-Award Project Officer submits the final proposal to the sponsor.  A full copy of the proposal is uploaded and is accessible to the principal investigator and department administrator via InfoEd.
8. The PI and/or department administrator should monitor submission of the proposal through sponsor acceptance of the proposal for review.  This can be done via e-mail from Grants.gov or directly from the sponsor.   If there are errors requiring correction, the PI and/or department administrator makes the necessary corrections and contacts SPS to resubmit.

Proposal Review Requirements

All administrative components of a proposal are due to SPS no later than 5 business days prior to the agency deadline and all scientific components (submission-ready proposal)  are due to SPS by noon the day before the sponsor deadline.  This is in accordance with the Proposal Submission Policy and Due Dates.  This allows SPS to review the proposal thoroughly and identify problems that need to be addressed, as well as allow you ample time to finalize the proposal.

See Proposal Submission Policy and Due Dates

All proposals must be routed through SPS for review and approval prior to submitting to the sponsor to ensure compliance with University, Federal, State, and Sponsor policies and procedures.  Pre-proposals that require electronic submission by SPS, the signature of an authorized official or cost share must be routed through SPS.  If a detailed budget is a requirement of the pre-proposal, it is recommended that the pre-proposal is also routed through SPS. The routing process is not completed until the authorized official in SPS has signed the proposal.

Submissions made prior to approval from SPS are not officially approved and may be administratively withdrawn if the submission is found to be non-compliant with University or agency requirements. If you have submitted a proposal without SPS review, please notify us immediately so we can work with you to route your proposal for the necessary approvals.

Proposal Submission Requirements

The following should be submitted to SPS 5 business days prior to the sponsor deadline:

• Completed  Internal Proposal Review Form (Reminder: Due date must be entered or write “No Due Date” if there is no due date)
• Proposal Guidelines from Sponsoring Agency
• Draft of Proposal Science Documents (i.e. summary, narrative, references)
• Budget and Budget Justification
• Cost Sharing Details and Approvals, if applicable
• Subrecipients:  Approved Scope of Work, Budget, Budget Justification, F&A Rate Agreement and signed Information and Compliance Form
• Completed Electronic application, if applicable (final science documents should be provided by noon the day prior to sponsor deadline)

Pre-Proposal Submission Requirements

The following should be submitted to SPS 5 business days prior to the sponsor deadline for pre-proposals, Letters of Intent requiring institutional signatory:

• Completed IPAS form
• Proposal Guidelines from Sponsoring Agency
• Draft of Proposal Science (i.e. summary, narrative, references)
• Budget and Budget Justification
• Pdf of draft application

For assistance with preparing your proposal and meeting requirements, please refer to the Proposal Preparation Checklist

If the proposed research involves the use of human subjects, animal subjects, embryonic stem cells, recombinant DNA, or biohazards, Research Compliance Services can assist you in obtaining appropriate review and approval.

Proposal Submission Due Dates

The following proposal submission due dates allow SPS sufficient time to review the proposal thoroughly, identify necessary corrections and make appropriate recommendations.  The review timeframe allows PIs ample time to finalize the proposal prior to submission to sponsors.

Items Required for Submission to SPS	SPS Due Date (# of business days prior to sponsor due date)
Proposal Review Materials for all proposals, including electronic (see Proposal Preparation Checklist for specific requirements)	5 Full Business Days
Electronic Submission (ready to submit)	noon day prior to sponsor deadline

Five (5) Business Days Prior to the Sponsor Due Date

Forward Proposal Review Materials to SPS for review.

• The PI/Dept. should forward the proposal review materials to SPS five (5) business days prior to the due date. The proposal materials should be emailed (sps@uchc.edu).

Noon Day Prior to the Sponsor Due Date

Release Electronic Application with final Science Documents to SPS for Submission to the Sponsor.

• The PI /Dept. should release the final application to SPS noon the day prior to the due date for electronic submission to the sponsor. This allows time for final review and for submittal several hours in advance to minimize possible technology problems and maximize time for corrections in response to system errors indicated by Grants.gov (or other electronic systems).

Late Submission for SPS Due Dates

If proposal materials are not received in SPS by the internal due dates, the proposal is considered late. The proposal is added to the queue and is processed in the order it was received. The PI assumes the risk that there may be insufficient time for adequate proposal review, that he/she may need to correct errors in the electronic submission, and that the sponsor deadline may be missed.

 Proposal Submission on Days that the University has an Unscheduled Closing Due to Inclement Weather

When the University is closed due to inclement weather in accordance with the University’s Emergency Closing Policy, the Pre-Award Team is available to submit proposals due that day. It is at the discretion of the PI whether or not to submit or seek an extension from the sponsor as the University is closed.   Please copy sps@uchc.edu on the extension request, if applicable.  Generally, the decision to accept a late submission is made by the sponsor on a case by case basis.  Please refer to the sponsor’s specific policies on late submissions due to inclement weather.

Faculty automatically eligible to serve as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator:

• Emeritus Faculty
• University Professor
• Professor
• Associate Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Research Professor
• Associate Research Professor
• Assistant Research Professor
• Professor-in-Residence
• Associate Professor-in-Residence
• Assistant Professor-in-Residence
• Research Scientist
• Research Scholar
• Extension Educator

Professional staff normally eligible to serve as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator:

• Dean
• Associate or Assistant Dean
• Director
• Associate or Assistant Director
• Extension Professor
• Associate or Assistant Extension Professor
• Curator
• Program Director
• Selected University Staff Professionals, Specialists, and Educational Assistants

Employees normally considered ineligible to serve as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator:

• Instructor
• Assistant Instructor
• Lecturer
• Post-Doctoral Appointees
• Research Associates, Assistants and Fellows
• Visiting and Other Short-Term Appointees

In special cases, exceptions may be made. These special cases require the Request for Approval to Serve as Principal Investigator Form be completed by the PI Applicant, signed by the PI Applicant, Faculty Sponsor, Department Head and/or Dean and submitted to SPS for review prior to proposal submission. A Curriculum Vitae should be attached.

For additional information, please refer to the University’s policy on Eligibility for Principal Investigator Status.

The following websites have information that is informative and valuable to Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee members and the researchers who use laboratory animals.

IACUC Administrator’s Association

American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine Position on Medical Records for Animals Used in Research, Teaching, and Testing (PDF)

American Association for Laboratory Animal Science

Animal Inspection Reports – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Animal Welfare Information Center

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Animal Care Policy Manual

Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC)

Congressional Research Service Report for Congress on the Animal Welfare Act (PDF)

Ethics of Research Involving Animals – Nuffield Bioethics

Johns Hopkins Center for the Alternatives to Animal Testing

Laboratory Animal Welfare Training Exchange

Laboratory Primate Newsletter

Newcastle Consensus Meeting on Carbon Dioxide Euthanasia of Laboratory Animals (PDF)

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidelines for Rodent Survival Surgery

Public Health Service (PHS) Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW)

Public Health Service (PHS) OLAW FAQ Website

USDA/APHIS Animal Care

USDA Environmental Enrichment for Nonhuman Primates Resource Guide

 

• Medicare National Coverage Determinations Manual
• Medicare Benefit Policy Manual
• form_ide_request
• National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Routine Costs in Clinical Trials (310.1)