Award Management
Direct vs Facilities and Administrative (Indirect Cost)
Direct costs are those costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity, or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.
Indirect costs represent the expenses of doing business that are not readily identified with a particular grant, contract, project function or activity, but are necessary for the general operation of the organization and the conduct of activities it performs.
F&A costs are the “indirect” costs associated with running a sponsored project. Indirect cost rates are used to distribute those costs to benefiting revenue sources.
§ Lamar Indirect cost rate: 32.6%; some sponsors require lower or sometime no indirect cost, all in which will be in your Notice of Award documents.
§ Indirect costs can only be generated by spending
§ Indirect costs are allocated quarterly to university (50%), ORSPA (25%), Principle Investigator (10%), College (7.5%), Department (7.5%).
Award Spending
The proper administration of an award, including award spending, is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) and department. It is important the PIs and departments understand the terms and conditions of the award to fulfill the requirements outlined by the awarding agency. PIs are responsible for oversight of financial, scientific, and compliance aspects of the award. PIs and departments exercise budgetary control and ensure that expenditures incurred are within the authorized budget and period and that only those costs that are allowable, allocable, and reasonable are charged. Sufficient records to support sponsored project transactions must be maintained, available for audit, and demonstrate compliance with contract terms, LU policy, accounting guidance, and federal regulations.
How to Spend:
§ Salaries and Wages – EPAFs via Self Service Banner (Include hyperlink to EPAF training)
§ Travel – Chrome River
§ Other (M&O) costs – Cardinal Purch
§ Other ways to spend include paper Request to Pays found on the Procurement Services website
Effort Reporting
Effort certification process in Lamar’s means of providing assurance to sponsors those salaries charged to sponsored projects are reasonable in relation to the work performed and that faculty and staff have met the effort committed to a project.
An effort report is required for any employee whose salary, or any portion of salary is charged to a federally sponsored award, including federal flow through funds, and for any employees with a cost charging commitment associated with a federal or federal flow through award. If effort was committed on a sponsored project charged to a federal or federal flow through project, the report must be certified.
Effort reporting occurs Quarterly at the beginning of each quarter. Post Award officials will contact each PI at the beginning of the quarter informing them that the effort reporting period has begun.
Allowable/Unallowable Costs
Please see below table for lists of allowable/unallowable cost:
| Advertising | Only for the recruitment of personnel required for the project |
| Air Conditioning | Allowable as Indirect |
| Alcoholic beverages | Unallowable |
| Alterations, non-construction | Must be budgeted or approved |
| Animals | Generally allowable |
| Bad debts | Unallowable |
| Bonding | Generally allowable |
| Bonus payments | Allowable if part of compensation |
| Books | Generally allowable |
| Business meals and meeting costs | Only when specifically permitted by the Sponsored Agreement |
| Civil defense | Allowable as indirect cost |
| Commencement and convocation | Unallowable |
| Communication costs | Generally allowable |
| Computer costs | Allowable if essential to the performance of the work and will be used solely for such project |
| Conferences | Only when specifically permitted by the Sponsored Agreement |
| Construction | Unallowable unless authorized by awarding agency |
| Consultant services | Allowable, some agencies require approval. All Texas State employees must be approved in advance or listed in the approved budget |
| Contingent reserves | Unallowable except self |
| Contributions | Unallowable |
| Custom and import duty | Generally allowable |
| Depreciation | Indirect costs only |
| Donors | Generally allowable |
| Drugs | Generally allowable |
| Dues | Generally allowable |
| Entertainment | Unallowable unless specifically approved |
| Equipment: general purpose (desks, file cabinets, fax machines) | Usually must be budgeted or approved in advance |
| Equipment: Scientific | Allowable when necessary and will be used primarily, or exclusively for the project(s) to which the costs will be charged |
| Equipment maintenance and repair | Generally allowable as noted above |
| Equipment rental | Generally allowable as noted above |
| Fines and penalties | Unallowable |
| Fringe benefits | Generally allowable |
| Fund raising costs | Unallowable |
| Goods or services for personal use | Unallowable |
| Human subjects | Generally allowable |
| Insurance | Only allowed to the extent required or approved |
| Interest | Usually allowable. Can be allowed if total cost of purchase including interest does not exceed the cost of rental |
| Investment management costs | Unallowable |
| Labor relations | Should be charged as indirect costs |
| Legal costs | Generally allowable |
| Library costs | Indirect costs |
| Licenses & permits Losses | Unallowable |
| Maintenance | Generally allowable |
| Materials | Generally allowable |
| Meals | Allowable for subjects and participants or employees on trips |
| Memberships | Business, technical and professional organizations only if specifically approved |
| Moving costs | Generally allowable |
| News releases | Allowable with approval |
| Overtime | Allowable, with institutional approval |
| Patient costs | Generally allowable |
| Plant security costs | Indirect Cost |
| Periodicals | Unallowable unless approved by the funding agency or essential to the daily conduct of the project and not readily available from other sources (such as the library) |
| Postage: Routine postage | Unallowable except where a project requires specifically identifiable large mailings or the like |
| Postage: Special mailing or delivery costs | Allowable when necessary for the success or completion of project |
| Pre-award Costs | Unallowable, except for grants under Federal Demonstration Project grants and cooperative agreements from certain federal agencies with institutional approval |
| Promotional items and memorabilia, including models, gifts and souvenirs | Unallowable unless specifically requested and approved in proposal |
| Proposal costs | Unallowable as a direct expense |
| Publication costs | Unallowable unless approved by the funding agency or essential to the daily conduct of the project and not readily available from other sources (such as the library) |
| Registration fees | Generally allowable |
| Rearrangement costs, refreshments | Not allowable unless specifically approved by contracting officer |
| Recruiting costs | Generally allowable |
| Relocation costs | Generally allowable |
| Rental/lease of facilities or Equipment | Generally allowable |
| Renovation costs | Allowable if approved by agency |
| Repairs | Generally allowable |
| Royalty costs | Generally allowable |
| Salaries and wages: Faculty/Technical | Costs of personnel are allowable on research agreements to the extent supported by actual effort performed on the project and approved in the award budget. An individual's base salary must be used to compute the cost charged to a sponsored agreement |
| Salaries and wages: Administrative and Clerical | Generally recovered through indirect costs; therefore, they are usually unallowable as direct costs on federal agreements |
| Scholarships and student aid | Allowable costs for training grants only |
| Service charges | Generally allowable |
| Specialized service center costs | Generally allowable |
| Student activity costs | Unallowable |
| Subject costs | Generally allowable |
| Supplies: Project Supplies | Allowable if identified as being exclusively for the support of a sponsored agreement. Chemicals, laboratory supplies, pens, pencils, folders, notebooks and the like |
| Supplies: Office Supplies | Unallowable if items commonly found in any office such as wall clocks, calendars, waste cans, letterhead, staples, etc. that would likely be used for other purposes except in specific circumstances |
| Taxes | Generally allowable |
| Telephone: Local | Generally unallowable as direct cost |
| Telephone: Long Distance | Allowable when specifically identified with an individual project |
| Transportation costs | Generally allowable |
| Travel costs | Allowable within the approved budget limits and university policy. Foreign travel requires program approval |
| Examples of unallowable Costs | Coffee Mugs for Administrative Staff; Bus Chartered for Administrative Staff; Reunion for Former Participants; Selling and Marketing; T shirts; Engraved key chains; Texas State banners (unless specifically requested and approved in proposal) |
Note:
Unallowable costs are costs that cannot be paid by a sponsored program. Such costs may be expressly prohibited by Uniform Guidance 2CFR 200. Charging an unallowable expense to a sponsored award is prohibited, i.e., at no time should unallowable costs be charged to the sponsored project.
However, if an error does occur and unallowable cost is identified, the following process should be followed:
§ Post Award will notify the PI/Department of the unallowable cost that should be moved to a department specific account or the PI/Department/College Designated Returned Indirect Cost Account.
If PI/Department is non-responsive to the request, ORSPA has the authority to move unallowable costs to the PI/Department/College Designated Returned Indirect Cost Account.
