If the cost share is committed based on percent effort, and necessary approvals have been obtained (e.g., reduction of 25% or more) the reduction need not be prorated between the direct charged and cost shared effort commitment. It is critical however, that the total adjusted commitment be met which could be via direct salary charges only, cost share only or a combination of both. If the cost share is mandatory, i.e., dollar based, specific approval from the sponsor is required unless other sources of cost sharing are permissible and substituted.
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Cost Sharing
When there is a reduction in effort for an individual with both cost shared and directly charged salary, to which component does the reduction apply?
What constitutes a cost share commitment?
Cost-share commitments may arise when the proposal reflects a level of effort devoted to the sponsored project that is greater than the funding allocated for the commitment (e.g., 15% effort commitment but only 10% funding requested). They also may arise when the faculty member’s salary exceeds a sponsor’s limitation on the amount of salary that can be reimbursed, as in the case of salary caps imposed by the National Institutes of Health
What does the message 'Cost Share commitments have been adjusted to reflect actual effort performed? View Details' mean?
This message indicates that cost share adjustments have been manually entered to reflect the actual effort performed. Click 'View Details' link, to review the cost share adjustments made. Before certification, cost share effort percentage may be adjusted using the 'Adjust/View Cost Share' button. If the 'Adjust/View' button is not available, contact the department's ASTRA authorizer to request the 'View and Update Effort Report' role.
Can the cost share actual effort percentages be modified online after the FEC is certified?
Changes can only be made to certified cost share by the faculty member recertifying the FEC. To accomplish, this contact GCA via Grant Tracker for requested changes to pledges. The faculty member should not recertify the FEC until the requested changes have been processed and appear in eFECS. Contact efecs@uw.edu for recertification questions.
Can the PI rebudget charges on a budget that has a dollar match cost share from non-effort items to faculty salary?
Yes, with the following caveat. Regardless of whether the cost sharing is percent effort or dollars, if there is a specific commitment of effort by the PI or other key personnel, and the re-budgeting is caused by or results in a significant reduction (i.e. 25% or more) of that commitment, prior approval from the sponsor for this change needs to be obtained. Additionally, significant adjustments between effort and non-effort categories may imply a scope change. If this is the case, the sponsor must be contacted to approve the change.
When the cost share commitment is 10% why does it appear as 5% on the FEC? When the faculty member has a 9 month appointment, how can we document that the faculty actually performed 10% effort in the spring quarter?
Cost shared effort, as well as effort paid directly from the grant, is averaged over the FEC cycle for faculty reporting on both academic and calendar cycles. This may result in a percentage appearing on the FEC that is less than the committed amount. For example, if the grant was only active for half of the cycle, a 10% percent commitment will appear as 5% on the FEC. For faculty on an academic cycle, eFECS will identify if the commitment is for spring and upload the full 10% (the un-averaged percent) to the spring quarter in the Cost Share Module.
If a PI has a 20% direct charge commitment and a 5% cost share commitment, can he/she charge 15% to the grant and cost share 10%?
Yes, the relationship between the amount of effort charged directly to the grant and the amount cost shared is secondary to the PI meeting the combined (total) percent of his/her committed effort.