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GRANT MANAGEMENT

Since the program’s beginning, the Indirect Costs Program staff and consultants have examined various institutional practices for the management of these grants.

Below are some of the best practices that have been observed. Institutions are encouraged to adopt them as their own.

Have a senior administrator lead the file

Having a senior manager as a key contact person for the institution helps facilitate internal communication and external relations with the Secretariat.

By virtue of his or her participation in the institution’s overall yearly planning, a senior manager is immediately aware of the grant's strategic use and is privy to observations of its impact on the institution’s research environment.

As well, the program's reporting requirements necessitate the collection of information from various members of the research community. For this process to occur in a timely fashion, a person in authority is best positioned to impose deadlines.

"Research, meet finance.  Finance, meet research."

Gathering information for the outcomes report works best when the research managers and finance officers work in close collaboration. While the finance office is responsible for tracking the figures associated with the grant expenditures, the research office tracks descriptive information on their use and their impact.

Establish an annual process for the reporting requirements and create simple report templates that reflect the Indirect Costs Program’s five expenditure categories. Make these templates clear and simple for the finance and research units to complete.

Tackle creeping deadlines with a plan

Preparing a comprehensive work plan for managing the grant is vital as it will lead to a timely and successful execution of the program’s reporting requirements. By making the schedule consistent from year to year, researchers and other stakeholders can easily prepare for what is expected of them.

Plans with realistic deadlines also make for high-quality results.

Perform a survey of the costs incurred to support research

The process of identifying all expenditures associated with research projects, including indirect costs, brings the true costs of research into view. It also provides a basis for strategic planning in support of these and future projects.

Conducting a survey of the costs incurred makes it possible for institutions to identify new and ongoing expenditures and to report these findings to the Secretariat. It also clearly illustrates the proportion of indirect costs that the institution is able to cover with its grant.

Put in place a planning and approval process for allocating your grant

Integrating plans for the use of an Indirect Costs grant within the institution’s overall strategic research plans is important.

The planning and approval process for the use of Indirect Costs funds may be specific to the grant, or be part of a larger annual budgeting process at the institution, but in either case involves consultation with representatives from across the institution’s research enterprise.

After ascertaining the needs of the various units involved in research, decision makers at the institution are able to prioritize research needs and invest the grant in a way that maximizes its value.

Share your decisions with stakeholders

Communication and transparency regarding the internal use of your Indirect Costs grants serves not only to keep members of your institution’s community abreast of expenditure decisions, but also sensitizes them to the costs of research and the kinds of common needs that exist in supporting the research enterprise.

This is especially important for institutions that manage their grant centrally.

Take your pick of two suggested allocation models

The biggest challenge that institutions face with respect to managing their Indirect Costs grant is its modest size compared to the actual costs of supporting research.

Institutions are addressing this challenge by investing the grant strategically and choosing an allocation model that fits well with the institution’s operating culture.

There are basically two models for allocating the Indirect Costs grant toward expenditures.

The specific forms these models take vary considerably from one institution to another. It is often the case, especially in smaller institutions, that the entire grant is managed centrally. At other institutions, frameworks have been set up to internally distribute the grant to faculties or other designated units.

1. Allocate the grant to cover a portion of all costs

Many institutions use the grant to cover a variety of expenditures in different areas of need. An institution may find that the annual process of surveying the total costs of supporting research is a critical step in identifying these areas of need.

Once the existing indirect costs of research have been identified, reduce them to costs that can be attributed to federally-funded research. Reduce them further to ensure that the costs being counted are eligible under the Indirect Costs Program. Now you are ready to apply the grant across the full spectrum of eligible expenditures to cover a portion of all costs.

2. Allocate the grant toward specific expenditures

Given the size of grants and the magnitude of costs institutions bear in support of research, an institution will sometimes apply their entire grant to a single category of expenditures.

First, identify specific costs incurred in support of research. Then, apply the grant to cover these expenses, either in whole or in part.

Keep appropriate records and supporting documentation

In order for the Secretariat to have an acceptable level of assurance that institutions are using their grants for the purposes for which they were awarded and in accordance with the policies and guidelines of the program and their institution, separate accounting records must be maintained.

These records may be established as part of the general ledger accounting system or may be maintained in other ways, such as in an Excel spreadsheet.

They will include a full breakdown of the allocation of Indirect Costs funding within the institution and the total expenditures by category allocated, which must reconcile to the total grant amount.

During site visits, institutions must be prepared to provide full supporting documentation for all expenses charged to the Indirect Costs grant.

The required documentation includes:

• originating documentation;
• internal expense allocation method and rationale; and
• documentation of approval of allocation method and rationale by institutional authorities (e.g., minutes of meetings where approved, or signed authorization document).

The institutions are responsible for authorizing Indirect Costs expenditures in accordance with the agencies’ regulations and conditions of grants and with the institutions’ policies.

The authorization certifies that:

• all expenditures on the claim are for the purpose for which
  the grant was awarded; and
• the charges included have not been claimed for reimbursement from another source.