Return of Indirect Costs
For sponsored projects emanating from Academic Affairs, the indirect costs received shall be distributed in the following manner:
- 45% to the General Fund
- 20% to Provost
- 20% to Deans (of the faculty member generating the grant)
- 15% will be used as “incentives” to further sponsored project activity on campus, and to help the campus community share in the benefits of hosting sponsored projects on campus. The funds will be used in the following ways:
- Half (7.5%) will be placed in a designated fund administered by the Assistant Vice President for Academic Engagement (AVPAE) or Provost’s designee to which faculty may apply in order to enhance the research/creative culture on campus and engage more students in research and creative endeavors. The vision for this fund is still in development, but what has been articulated at this time is:
- this fund would be distinct from the current Faculty Development Grant Pool to which faculty apply for support of their scholarly projects;
- this fund would be distinct from the Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor grant fund to which students apply for support of their research and creative projects; and
- this fund should not replace the Undergraduate Conference Fund that currently exists (students should be encouraged to apply for those funds as appropriate);
- faculty could make requests to this fund by writing to the AVPAE, who will accept requests and make decisions on a rolling basis. In this way, the fund will have a high degree of flexibility to meet needs, and a minimum burden in terms of an application process. Whenever funds are disbursed from this pool, the award documentation will make clear that the award was made possible by Indirect Cost Funds that have been generated by sponsored projects on campus—raising the profile of such activities and underscoring their benefit to all.
- This fund should carry-over from year to year;
- Guidelines for applying/use of funds will be developed by AVPAE.
- The use of the faculty pool shall be reported on as part of the AVPAE annual report process.
- Half (7.5%) will be returned directly back to the departments of the faculty member generating the grant. The goal is to ensure that departments hosting sponsored projects reap some of the benefits instead of feeling that grants are a drain on their resources. These funds should come with few strings, to be used for a wide range of purposes. When the business office does their annual disbursement, the appropriate formula will be applied and funds will automatically go back to the department.
