Under-recovery Funding and Approval

Sponsored research under-recovery can be funded through a combination of central and supplemental (local) funding.

Under-recovery incurred through gifts or non-research projects can only be funded through local resources, using different cost objects than sponsored research projects with under-recovery.

Using Central Funding for Research Under-recovery

The Institute provides central funding for research under-recovery that is “budgeted out,” in consultation with deans and VPR, to DLCIs administering research with under-recovery. These funds are allocated to the DLCIs to allow most under-recovery decisions to be made at the DLCI level. This central funding is recurring to better support multi-year research under-recovery commitments.

DLCIs can fund research under-recovery from a combination of their central allocation and their own resources including discretionary and released general funds. When faculty have multiple affiliations, DLCIs administering the research project are encouraged to collaborate on decisions with faculty members’ home departments, as appropriate. 

DLCIs may elevate large research under-recovery funding requests to deans or the VPR if they believe their resources are not sufficient to cover the full cost. In addition, the deans and the VPR will review: 

• Awards that involve the set up of new entities (including center grants) or commitments for new space
• Awards requiring cost-sharing
• Requests for exceptions regarding the use of central funding

Additional Central Funding Approvals

Though central funding can be used for the majority of faculty under-recovery requests, it cannot be used for certain kinds of awards without approval from the VPR:

• Industry or for-profit sponsors
• Federal awards, other than training grants. Contact your RAS administrator if a federal solicitation caps F&A recovery.
• Voluntary cost sharing (that is, cost sharing not required as a condition of the award)

Using Supplemental Funding

DLCIs may also use discretionary and released general funds to fund sponsored research under-recovery requests, including requests that are not eligible for central funding.

Transfers of Supplemental Funds

Department heads or directors of administration and finance can request transfers of supplemental funds to cover under-recovery funding requests by submitting a NIMBUS Budget Transaction Request (BTR) using a separate GL (see table below). These funds, once transferred into the under-recovery account, will carry over to the next fiscal year. (Note that the centrally funded portion does not carry over.)

^{Updated July 15, 2024}