MIT is unique in its concept of “allocation accounts.” The determination and use of allocation accounts has been approved by our cognizant federal agency, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and is restricted to certain circumstances in certain laboratories. The basic principle is that the expenses of an approved allocation unit's central administrative group are distributed to all accounts administered within the laboratory using rates pre-approved by MIT's cognizant agency and federal auditors (ONR-DCAA).
The expenses that may be charged through the allocation process include (1) the salaries and wages (exclusive of employee benefits and vacation accrual) of the employees administering the laboratory (such as administrative, fiscal, and facilities officers); and (2) the materials and services necessary to support the central administration of the laboratory.
There are three types of rates to allocate:
- Salaries and wages
- Materials and services.
- Utilities at Haystack Observatory only
Travel (except within the Administrative group), equipment, meetings and lunches, and any unallowable costs may not be charged to the allocation account.
A complete list of departments, laboratories and centers approved for allocation accounts and their respective allocation rates may be found in the Rates section of this website.