Research projects must be fully costed, taking account of any limitations imposed by the funding body. Applicants must apply for the funds necessary for the research activity to be undertaken. All of the direct costs – i.e. salaries (inclusive of salary on-costs), equipment, travel and accommodation, consumables – must be included in the budget. Allowances should be made for increases in costs during the period of the project, including rises in base salaries and salary increments.
Costing Template
A Costing Template is available at the bottom of this page for use in developing budgets.
Salaries
All salary costs, including salary on-costs, should be included in budgets. ECU academic and general staff salary scales and Staff Position Classifications are available on the web.
Travel & Accommodation
Use should be made of ECU Travel Policies and related resources, including information on ECU Vehicle Allowances and Australian Taxation Office Per Diem and Accommodation Rates.
Indirect Costs (Infrastructure / University Services Charge)
Unless explicitly ruled out by the funding body, or otherwise exempt, the University Services Charge must be included in the budget. The amount to include is calculated by applying 1/9 (or 11.11%) against all of the direct costs. This is equal to 10% of the total revenue – i.e. of total revenue inclusive of the amount allocated for the UCS. It can be shown in the budget as a separate line item, or built into the amounts shown for the direct costs. Where GST has to be included in the budget, this should be applied to the total budget inclusive of the USC. Note that in most instances applications for funding from the schemes listed on the Australian Competitive Grants Register cannot include the USC. The USC is to fund some of the indirect costs of the project, such as office and laboratory space; administrative, technical and professional support; IT and information support services; and building maintenance.
In-kind Contribution
For some funding schemes there may be a requirement to list the University’s contribution to the project. This can be calculated by applying a multiplier against the salary costs (inclusive of salary on-costs) of the academic staff working on the project. For non-laboratory-based research the multiplier is 1.0, and for laboratory-based research 1.25. In instances where the salaries are not included in the budget, such as where the funding agency will not pay Chief Investigator salaries, the multipliers should be 2.0 and 2.25 respectively. It is especially important that the University in-kind contribution be shown in instances where intellectual property may come out of the project, as the in-kind contribution may be used in determining the ownership of the IP and distribution of revenue resulting form commercialisation of the IP.
GST
Unless the funding body instructs otherwise, GST should be included in budgets, as a separate line item. GST should be calculated as a percentage of the total project costs inclusive of USC.
Budget Categories
Some funding bodies may define how budgets are to be constructed and presented, while others will rely on the applicant setting out the budget in an appropriate manner. The funding body’s policies may prescribe which categories of expenditure it will meet and hence the items that can be included in the budget. A funding scheme may, for instance, prohibit or limit spending on travel, equipment or teaching relief. The funding body may also have other, specific restrictions on the use of research funding.
Budget Justification
The budget justification section should include a concise and compelling statement of the reasons for each budget item. There should be a clear link between the research plan and the budget. By providing a clearly articulated case for all of the items requested in the budget applicants can reduce the likelihood of the amount awarded being (considerably) less than the amount applied for.
Resources: |
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Research Costing Proforma - [.xls | 79 kb] |
