Budget Preparation
A budget for sponsored funding should reflect the resources necessary to successfully complete the proposed project. Reviewers will assess whether the requested costs are reasonable, well justified, and aligned with the project’s objectives. Typical budget categories are described below.
Personnel Costs
Include all UCF personnel who will contribute to the project, such as the Principal Investigator (PI), co-PIs, technical and research staff, postdoctoral scholars, OPS employees, and graduate or undergraduate students. Do not include personnel from subrecipient organizations or consultants in this section.
For each individual, provide:
- Project role/title
- Level of effort
- Institutional Base Salary (IBS)
- Salary requested based on the proposed level of effort
Salary requests must be based on actual institutional salaries. Sponsored projects may not be used to increase an individual’s salary rate beyond their established compensation. Future-year salary escalations, when permitted by the sponsor, should generally not exceed 3% annually.
Student salaries should be consistent with rates paid for similar positions within UCF and the applicable college or department. Tuition remission for graduate assistants and graduate associates should also be included in the budget, as appropriate. See Other Direct Costs for additional guidance.
Please refer to Policy 4-212 for committed effort requirements.
Administrative Support
Administrative or clerical service costs are included in the Facilities and Administrative Rate (F&A Rate/indirect costs) and therefore are not an allowable direct cost unless the following conditions are met.
- The Administrative and Clerical services are integral to the sponsored project.
- Individuals involved can be specifically identified with the sponsored project.
- The administrative and clerical costs are explicitly included in the sponsored award budget or have the prior written approval of the sponsor; and
- The costs are not also recovered as indirect costs.
Fringe Benefits
Consultants
The use of paid consultants may be justified when the project calls for expertise of a highly defined nature for a fixed period of time and only for tasks where on-campus expertise does not exist.
Consultant fees are based on an hourly or daily rate. For example:
Evaluation Consultant: Dr. John Smith
20 days @ $200/day = $4,000
If needed, travel costs for consultants may be budgeted.
Consultants who are named in a proposal must provide a completed Consultant Commitment Form.
Travel
Travel expenses necessary to carry out the aims of the project are generally allowable direct costs. Travel costs include:
- Airfare
- Lodging
- Ground Transportation
- Per Diem
- Registration Fees
International travel may need prior approval by the sponsor. See Foreign Travel Per Diem Rates.
The use of a US flag carrier is required on federally sponsored awards.
International travel to countries under U.S. sanctions, embargoes or U.S. Department of State travel warning may have restrictions, particularly if technological equipment is being exported. See Export Control and International Travel for more information.
Travel for consultants may be included in this budget category if they are not included in the Consultant budget line.
Materials & Supplies
Supplies are defined as expendable materials necessary to carry out a sponsored award with a unit price of less than $10,000. Itemize all supply items.
Note, general purpose office supplies are not allowable unless the following conditions are met:
- The administrative supplies are integral to the performance of the sponsored project;
- The administrative supplies are explicitly included in the sponsored project budget or have the prior written approval of the sponsor; and
- The costs are not also recovered as indirect costs.
Publication Costs
Include publication and dissemination costs if your project plan involves publishing research results.
Equipment
The Uniform Guidance defines equipment as tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost that equals or exceeds $10,000.
Documented price quotes should be provided with your proposal.
Subawards
Subawardees are external entities that perform a portion of the programmatic effort on a project. Subawards are organizations, not individuals. Items required with your proposal include:
- Subaward scope of work
- Subaward budget & budget justification
- Complete and signed Subrecipient Statement of Intent (SOI) for subrecipient’s that are participants in the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse or a Subrecipient Commitment Form for subrecipient’s that are not participants in the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse.
- Subaward Predetermination Form (as needed)
Participant Support Costs / Training
Specific projects may include budget intended to offset costs that would otherwise be incurred by trainees. These are not research participants, rather “trainees”. Participants cannot be UCF employees. Participant Support Costs may include:
- Fees
- Trainee stipends
- Trainee Travel
- Other trainee costs, including subsistence
Other Direct Costs
Other direct costs not mentioned above may include the following:
- Computer Services
- Tuition Support for graduate students on Assistantships
- Service/Recharge Center Fees
Facilities & Administrative Costs (F&A)
F&A costs are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project. F&A costs are also referred to as indirect costs (IDC) or overhead.
F&A costs are real costs that the University incurs during the performance of research. The inclusion of F&A costs in the budget provides a means for the University to recover those costs. There are separate rates for On- and Off-Campus work, Organized Research, Instruction, and Other Sponsored Activities.
The Office of Research is the only office authorized to negotiate adjustments to indirect cost rates for any proposal.
UCF F&A Rate Agreement (Effective April 3, 2025)
Indirect Rate Reduction: A request to deviate from UCF’s federally negotiated F&A rates may be requested for consideration if a proposed project falls within eligible categories. A 10% reduced rate will be assessed if the request is approved and will be applied to the Total Direct Cost amount.
Total Project Costs
Add the direct and indirect cost figures together to derive the total project cost. This is the final budget figure. All budget calculations should be rounded to the nearest dollar. Do not include cents in any line item or total.
Cost Share
UCF generally does not allow voluntary cost share. Exceptions may include approved third-party contributions, investigator start-up funds, effort compliance related to Policy 4-212, or other situations approved by university leadership on a case-by-case basis.
If a Funding Proposal includes Cost Share, an approval must be included in the record from an administrator with the authority to commit the funds. The approval must lay out the dollar amount of cost share requested and note the specific proposal or FP record it is related to.
Budget Template
This template can be used for developing a budget for any sponsored funding source.