These notes apply to the relevant blue numbered sections in the document below.
- DOE may insist that we use their PMC123.1 Excel form as the budget justification.
- NSF has a 3-page limit on the budget justification per budget. For proposals that contain a subaward(s), each subaward must include a separate budget justification of no more than 3 pages.
- Some sponsors (e.g. DARPA) require budgets in particular tables or format. The accompanying justification should follow the order of items in the budget.
- NASA requires a table of personnel and work effort.
- Do not include if academic year effort is direct charged to sponsor.
- Do not include in NSF proposals. If no effort, the statement has to go in the Facilities document.
- Do not include in NIH proposals. NIH requires a statement of effort.
- Note that Vacation Accrual is not included in non-research projects.
- Note that catering for working meals provided as part of a conference/workshop is not eligible as participant support and should be budgeted under M & S instead.
- Providing detail at time of proposal is recommended since federal sponsors will request it.
- Itemize categories of spending, particularly when a large amount is requested.
- Include if no basis of estimate is provided.
- NASA requires the name, address and telephone number of MIT's Cognizant Auditor.
- Amounts provided as examples. Replace with the appropriate amounts for your proposal.
MIT/Department of _____________
Budget Justification for Cost Proposal (1, 2, 3)
SENIOR/KEY PERSONNEL (4):
Principal Investigator(s): ________, is a professor in the Department of __________ at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor _______ will be responsible for the overall administration and direction of the project. The PI will devote X summer/academic months at a rate of $_________.
MIT fully supports the academic year salary of Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors, but makes no specific commitment of academic year time or salary to this particular research project. ( 5, 6, 7 )
OTHER PERSONNEL:
Post-doctoral Associate(s): One post-doctoral associate is budgeted for X calendar months in years X through X. The post-doc will be responsible for__________________.
Annual inflation is budgeted at 3% for all salaries.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS:
Employee ( 8 ) Benefits (EB) are charged as direct costs and are set by MIT at the current negotiated rates for budgeting purposes: (FY25 provisional rates: on-campus EB 23.2%; off-campus EB 20.7%). MIT charges actual rates to awards. EB is applied to total salary expenses, excluding students.
OTHER DIRECT COSTS:
Equipment: Funds are requested for the following equipment in year X of the budget:
- $XXXX for a ______ for the purpose of __________.
Participant Support Costs: Funds are requested to support [#] of non-MIT participants in the [name of event] to be held during [dates] at [location]. Participant support costs are estimated as follows ( 14 ):
Total Nights |
3 |
Airfare |
$600 |
Lodging |
$1,050 |
Meals on travel status ( 9 ) |
$400 |
Taxis to/from airport |
$100 |
Subtotal Costs |
$2,150 |
Number of Participants |
10 |
Total Costs |
$21,500 |
Domestic Travel: Funds are budgeted for the [PI, Co-I, or RA] to attend either one domestic conference per year of this project to present research results and/or to travel to collaborate with colleagues. Approximate travel costs are as follows ( 14 ):
Domestic Travel |
|
Lodging |
$1,050 |
Meals & Incidentals |
$400 |
Taxis to/from airport |
$100 |
Subtotal Costs |
$2,650 |
Number of Person Trips |
1 |
Total Costs |
$2,650 |
International Travel: Funds are budgeted for the [ example: PI, Co-I, or PDA ] to attend either one international conference per year of this project to present research results and/or to travel to collaborate with colleagues. Travel is anticipated to the following international destinations, but may be subject to change: ___________. Approximate travel costs are as follows ( 14 ):
Total Nights |
5 |
Airfare |
$600 |
Lodging |
$1,750 |
Meals & Incidentals |
$600 |
Taxis to/from airport |
$100 |
Subtotal Costs |
$3,550 |
Number of Person Trips |
1 |
Total Costs |
$3,550 |
Materials and Supplies: are budgeted at $_______yr in Year X, and $_______ in Year X.
The ( 11 ) money will be spent on ________________________. ( 12 ) Due to the fundamental research nature of the project, materials costs are estimated based on the PI’s knowledge of prior projects of similar scope, and no further breakdown of materials is available.
Subawards: ________ [Institution/University] will be a subawardee under this project. The costs associated for the subaward are $________ for the period of ____ through _____. The subawardee will be responsible for __________________________________.
INDIRECT COSTS:
At this time, MIT does not have a federally negotiated Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate for non-research activities. In accordance with OMB’s Uniform Guidance, MIT charges a de minimis 10% MTDC rate on all direct costs for non-research activity funded by federal sponsors. ( 13 )