Most awards have project reporting requirements: the LBC Grant Specialists perform financial reporting; project/progress milestone reporting is typically performed by the Principal Investigator (PI). For federal awards, annual progress reports are due 30 days before the end of the project year. The next year’s funding can be delayed until these annual reports are filed. Final project reports are due no more than 90 days after the end of a federal award. The PI should consult the program officer if guidance regarding the content/scope of the report is needed. Some awards may require different reporting schedules, which are detailed in the award document or solicitation notice. If neither the solicitation nor other program documentation indicate a specific schedule for progress reports, it is good practice to assume that they are due 30 days before the beginning of the next project/budget year.
Indirect Costs and Other Rates
The University’s indirect cost (i.e. IDC, overhead, F&A) and fringe benefit rates are periodically negotiated with the federal government through the Department of Health and Human Services. There is a separate rate structure for non-federal awards. The current rates can be viewed on URA’s Quick Reference Fact Sheet. For more details about the rates, see the University’s facilities & administrative, fringe benefits, & disclosure statements. The University’s tuition support rates are set at the divisional level. The IDC rate is fixed for the term of the award and is typically not subject to change unless there is a continuation or renewal after the original term of the award has expired. Fringe benefit and tuition support rates will change from year to year and awards are charged accordingly.
In rare circumstances these rates can be reduced or waived because awards and/or funding agencies may have certain restrictions on how funds can be applied in these areas. Such restrictions are more likely encountered with private foundations, corporations, and local government funding sources. If graduate student tuition support is not allowed for research assistants, then the student should be designated a Research Assistant Type A (as opposed to Type B which automatically generates a tuition support charge). The tuition support rate will not be altered.
The fringe benefits applied to sponsored awards are classified as direct costs, related only to the employees working on the award and not a part of the indirect cost pool. Consequently, benefits charges are fully allowable on most awards. However, if there is rare situation where salaries are allowed, but not benefits of any kind, then a cost sharing arrangement will be implemented, and the account setup will need to be coordinated with Sponsored Award Accounting to ensure that benefits charges are appropriately redirected to another account. The benefit rates will not be altered.
Some non-federal funding sources set a limit on the indirect costs that they are willing to support that vary from the University’s standard rates. In this instance, a request for variation of IDC rates must be completed during the proposal process to reduce or waive the IDC rate as needed. In the absence of any written policy from the sponsor regarding indirect/administrative costs, the University will budget for full IDC recovery based on our established rates.
To learn more about preparing a grant progress report, please contact your assigned Grant Specialist or the SSD Local Business Center at ssdlbcgs@uchicago.edu and the LBC Grant Specialist assigned to your accounts will get in touch with you within two business days.
Related links:
University Research Administration (URA) – https://ura.uchicago.edu/