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UNIVERSITY POLICY

To specify indirect cost recovery guidelines that would promote increased and collaborative research, education and training, and service efforts within UMDNJ in support of the Strategic Plan (FY 2006-2010).

II.       ACCOUNTABILITY

Under the direction of the Executive Vice President for Academic and Clinical Affairs, the Senior Vice President for Finance and Deans shall ensure compliance with this policy. The Associate Deans for Research, the Vice President for Research and Associate Controller, Restricted Funds and Cost Analysis shall implement this policy.

III.      DEFINITIONS

A.       Indirect Cost Recovery - Costs which can not be readily identified with an individual project such as facilities operation and maintenance costs, depreciation, and administrative expenses, for which a funding agency will reimburse in an award to UMDNJ based on a Facility and Administrative (F & A) rate of the Direct Costs.

B.       Principal Investigator (PI) - An individual with the primary and continuing responsibility for the overall control and administration of the grant/contract/cooperative agreement, including the timely completion (as determined by each school) of the Transmittal and Approval Form for Grants and Contracts and the application in conformity with Federal and grantee requirements.

C.       Co-Investigators/Collaborating faculty and staff - Other individuals from either the Principal Investigator’s School or other participating Schools, responsible for supporting the development and administration of the grant/contract/cooperative agreement.

IV.      BACKGROUND

The UMDNJ Strategic Plan for FY 2006-2010, as approved by the Board of Trustees on June 21, 2005, includes, as a key value, increased collaboration within the university family and/or partnerships with others. The Strategic Plan’s Research Goal is to exploit UMDNJ’s comprehensiveness and capacities in competing successfully for research and other externally funded activities by building linkages between many categories of research and other activities, and by advancing academic collaboration within UMDNJ.

V.       REFERENCES

A.       Centers and Institutes                                      00-01-10-140:00

B.       Cost Allocation: General                                  00-01-50-20:00

C.       Funding: Grants and Contract Proposals          00-01-50-90:00

D.       Grants and Contracts: Administration               00-01-50-90:05

E.        Indirect Costs: Non Federal Research             00-01-50-90:10

VI.      POLICY

Implement a UMDNJ-wide indirect cost recovery policy within the university’s grants and contracts system that would assure an equitable, efficient and timely transfer of indirect costs between Schools.

A.       Unless a funding source has a specific mandate on how indirect costs are to be shared among collaborating institutions, this policy applies University-wide for any future awarded grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts which involve Co-Investigators, Collaborating faculty and/or staff from Schools other than the Principal Investigator’s School. A proportional share of any indirect costs accompanying the grant, cooperative agreement, or contract should flow to all participating Schools (i.e., “the indirects follow the directs”).

B.        This policy will apply to all indirect costs associated with both personnel and non-personnel expenditures (e.g., equipment, supplies, travel, etc.), unless the sponsor has an alternate policy for certain classes of direct costs, such as equipment purchases, in which case the sponsor’s policy shall apply.

C.       After transferred indirect cost funds have been assigned to the appropriate School in which the collaborating faculty and staff have their primary affiliation they will be assigned according to the recipient School’s policy on the distribution of indirect and overhead costs.

D.       This policy will apply at the start of each new annual budget period for existing multi-year projects.

E.        For any individual proposal, the application of this policy can be modified by written agreement between the Principal Investigator from the lead School and any Co-Investigators or faculty from other Schools on the condition that concurrence for any alternative indirect cost sharing arrangement is agreed to by the Associate Deans for Research at each participating School on or before the date the proposal is submitted to the potential funding agency.

F.        In order to estimate the indirect cost applicable to each Investigator, a separate budget must be included when an application, along with the GAFA, is circulated for review and approval. The detail back-up sheet for each Investigator will be used to establish a separate Banner Fund and the appropriate budget along with the indirect costs for that PI can be established [This index will remain under the parent grant analogous to the method used to distribute funds to subcontractors for the purpose of maintaining appropriate responsibility of the PI and institutional official of the parent grant for auditing allowable expenses]. For internal analysis and use within each School, each School may identify, in its overall reporting, the amount of direct and indirect costs attributable to the participation of its Co-Investigators, faculty, and/or staff participating in collaborative projects led by a PI at another School.

G.        Indirect cost sharing for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts awarded to internally designated University-wide Centers/Institutes will be negotiated among the entities involved consistent with the intent and principles of this policy.

By Direction of the President:

__________________________________________________
Executive Vice President for Academic and Clinical Affairs

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