College of Architecture, Arts, and Design | General Questions for Budget Building
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The location where most of the Salary work, including analysis and Academic Year reporting, will be completed: Summer On Campus Fringes Off Campus Course Buyout Faculty Research Incentive Personnel Plan PI/ Co- PI Technical Assistants for RDF Result Diffusion/Impact Undergraduate/ Graduate Open Access Book Wage Workers Publication Fees GRA/PHD students Marketing Tuition is required Impact measurement & Consultants evaluation Subcontracts (PIs from universities external to VT) Equipment Honorarium Computing Devices Software Cost Share Materials and Supplies Cost Share | Research and Innovation | Virginia Tech Other Cost Sharing on Sponsored Travel ( Domestic and Projects International) If you want to use your salary Catering or buyout as cost share, Human Subjects Payment please talk to your school Postage, Freight and director at least 4 weeks in Express Delivery advance of the sponsor Other deadline. If an external partner will Conference Support provide cost share, please Participant Support Costs request a letter of support Tuition/Fees/Health at least 2 weeks prior to Insurance the internal deadline Stipends Travel Subsistence Other
College of Architecture, Arts, and Design Budget Checklist
The PI should develop the proposal budget based on the best estimate of the financial support needed to carry out the proposed project. The PI is responsible for researching and determining the appropriate amounts for each budget category.
For example, if the project requires a specific type of material (bamboo, building supplies etc.), the PI must research the cost of that material.
While OSP and Maya review project proposal budgets for compliance with funding agency policies on allowable costs and the proper assignment of F&A costs, the responsibility for budgeting based on project requirements lies with the PI.
Items to Consider During Budget Preparation
Grant Period Personnel Cost Share Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) Tuition Part time and Wage Employees Equipment, Computing Devices, and Software Materials and Supplies Publication Costs Consultant Services Honorarium and Human Subject Payment Travel Subcontractors (anyone outside of VT) Participant Support Costs ○ Tuition/Fees/Health Insurance ○ Stipends ○ Travel ○ Subsistence ○ Other
DETAILED BUDGET INFORMATION
Grant Period ○ (MM/DD/YYYY - MM/DD/YYYY) The location where most of the work, including analysis and reporting, will be completed: ○ ON-CAMPUS: In a VT controlled, owned, or leased space where lease is not charged to the project. This includes space provided by partners such as local governments (but not the sponsor). It does not include work performed at an AREC site. ○ OFF-CAMPUS: At a location further than 50 miles from the main Blacksburg campus that is NOT a VT controlled or owned property including leased locations when the lease is charged directly to the project. It does not include work performed at an AREC site. ○ ADJACENT: At a location within 50 miles of the main Blacksburg campus that is NOT a VT controlled or owned property including leased locations when the lease is charged directly to the project. It includes work performed at an AREC site within 50 miles of the main Blacksburg campus such as Kentland, Horton or Catawba. Indirect Rates (F&A, Overhead)
○ ○ Indirect is automatically taken on the following categories: salary, fringe, material & supplies ○ Indirect is not taken on tuition, equipment, facilities, participant support costs. Personnel
○ (The principal investigator should send their pre-award associate a list of project personnel that includes full names and associated percentages of effort that should be charged to the budget. Depending on a Virginia Tech employee’s appointment type or job classification, percentage of effort can be expressed in a number of ways e/g amount of funds, amount of effort, calendar month spent working on the project) ○ Name: John Smith ○ Project role: PI ○ Academic Year Salary ( 9 months): ○ Summer Year Salary (3 months): ○ Fringe:
Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) ○ When GRA support is requested in a budget, tuition must be included in proportion to the level of effort. ○ A GRA is a graduate student working on a research effort. As a student, the salary is based on a 20-hour workweek. The salary received by a GRA is flexible and is established by the departments. ○ University and AAD Minimum: Step 1 $2,800 Tuition ○ Tuition and Fees for Fall and Spring Semesters, 2025-2026
Part time and Wage Employees ○ Technical Assistant at RDF ○ Undergraduate Wage: $15/hr ○ Graduate Wage: $18-20/hr Honorarium ○ Honoraria, fees for performing artists, speakers, lecturers, musicians, writers, and artists. Equipment, Computing Devices, and Software ○ Equipment is defined as an article of nonexpendable tangible personal property that is generally mobile and is not permanently affixed to any building or room having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $2,000 or more per unit. ○ Software is the programs, programming languages, and data that direct the operations of a computer system with a development or acquisition cost of greater than $100,000. Materials and Supplies ○ Materials and supplies are defined as items costing less than $2,000 per unit, energy supplies, manufacturing and merchandising supplies, medical and laboratory supplies, repair and maintenance supplies, field supplies, agricultural supplies, educational supplies, etc. Publication Costs: ○ Open Access: $10,000-15,000 ○ List of VT recognized book publishers ( check out research/) Contractual Services: ○ Catering Services ○ Printing Services ○ Honorarium ○ Human Subject Payment Consultant Services: ○ Communication Specialist ○ Transcription Specialist Travel ○ Domestic: $ ○ International: $ Subcontractors (anyone outside of VT) ○ The term Subcontractor refers to an individual or organization hired by the University to complete a portion of the sponsored program because the necessary equipment or expertise is not available within the university community. ○ Your pre-award administrator will need the following information before submitting the final proposal: ■ Subcontractor’s Statement of Work
■ Subcontractor’s Budget and Budget Justification ■ Subcontractor’s Letter of Intent (Commitment) ■ Copy of Subcontractor’s Federally Negotiated Indirect Rate Agreement
Participant Support Costs ○ Participant support costs are direct costs that are paid to participants or trainees (but not employees) for participation in meetings, conferences, symposia, short term instructional or information sharing activities, workshops or other training activities funded by a grant or award. These costs are allowable with the prior approval of the awarding agency. Participants perform no work or services and are not employees of the university. Costs for project personnel, coordinators, organizers, speakers, and program facilitators are not considered participant support, even if they are participating in the event ○ Tuition/Fees/Health Insurance ■ Tuition/Fees-fees paid by participants in direct connection to training events, may include lab fees, passport or visa fees, registration fees, tuition, etc. ○ Stipends ■ Stipends-money paid directly to the participant; generally small and non-compensatory ○ Travel ■ Travel-includes cost of transportation; participant must follow university and sponsor-specific guidelines (i.e. U.S. flag carrier, coach class, etc.) ○ Subsistence ■ Subsistence-cost of housing and per diem that are necessary for individual to participate in training event; local participants are ineligible ○ Other ■ Other-other necessary costs for individuals to participate in the event; may include manuals, lab supplies, insurance, etc. Cost Share ○ Cost Sharing is a financial commitment by Virginia Tech to share in the funding of a sponsored activity. The university will make a cost-sharing commitment only when required by the sponsor or by the competitive nature of the award (e.g. solicitations requiring a statement of institutional support) and only to the extent necessary to meet the specific requirements of the sponsored project. ○ The Office of Research and Innovation has a pool of funds that can contribute towards cost-share packages. PIs should contact their associate dean for research and Senior Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation Randy Heflin (rheflin@vt.edu) to initiate discussion of a cost-share package at least four weeks prior to the proposal deadline. ○ The principal investigator (PI) must include committed mandatory and committed voluntary cost sharing amounts in the proposed project budget. The PI is also responsible for obtaining appropriate approvals for cost sharing commitments by the respective Department Heads, Deans, or Vice Presidents.
○ Please Read Policy 3245, Cost Sharing on Sponsored Programs