A GOOD RESEARCH BUDGET

1. A GOOD RESEARCH BUDGET Fidelis Cho-Ngwa, PhD Associate Professor, Biochemistry Coordinator, Biotechnology Unit Laboratory University of Buea

2. Introduction • budget is a financial proposal that reflects the work proposed. • It outlines the expected project costs in detail, and should mirror the project description. • A budget represents the researcher's best estimate of the funds needed to support the proposed work.

3. Introduction continues • The term “best estimate” is most important because this is critical in determining whether you would get funding or not. • Prepare a detailed budget even for sponsors that accept lump sum budgets.

4. Introduction continues Budget requirements will vary by funding agency and grant mechanism The proposal budget is critical to the success of a study. A reviewer can determine much about the principal investigator's ability to conduct the proposed study by scrutinizing the budget; In fact, the main goals of the research grant application is to win the funding in the budget for the research of interest to take place

5. Introduction continues A good budget consists of three separate parts: the budget, the budget explanation or items, and the budget justification. The goal of a good budget is to answer the reviewers' questions before they occur The budget for your research must reflect the true cost of the research being proposed. 

6. First Steps in developing a good budget • First, review the Sponsoring Agency’s guidelines for any costing rules that could include: • Ceilings on requested amount • Indirect cost limits • Cost-share requirements (where applicable) • Direct cost restrictions (no equipment, for example) • If available, use sponsor forms

7. What are direct and indirect costs? Direct costs are research expenses:The costs that are directly attributed to the project, common direct costs heads are: • Salaries & Wages • Fringe Benefits • Equipment • Materials & Supplies • Patient Care Costs Indirect costs or overhead = Facilities & Administrative (F&A) expenses. Pooled costs your Institution incurs in support of Sponsored Activities not directly attributable to any one sponsored project. F&A is assessed as a percentage of direct costs. Travel Graduate Student Fees Consultants Subawards Lease Costs Other Direct Costs

8. Components of a good budget Personnel costs: Salaries, Wages, Allowances • Many component of any budget • If you know the specific person who will be working on a project, you should use their actual names and salary to calculate the total cost. • Personnel cost should preferably be 33% or less of the total budget Fringe Benefits • Is an employment benefit given in addition to one's wages or salary, e.g. Missions, per dieme, insurance • Fringe benefits are listed on a proposal budget as a set percent of salary Some sponsors (e.g. WHO/TDR) do not allow payment of salary to the PI without very strong justification by grantee organisation

9. Components of a good budget EQUIPMENT • Definition: • $1,000 unit cost or more • Non-expendable tangible property • Useful life of 2 years or more • Budgeting: • List pieces of equipment separately showing unit cost • Basis for costing: costing can easily be done on-line for items from laptops to centrifuges, or with familiar vendors. Avoid guesstimates. Prefer online costing over catalog book costing since the online costing and cat numbers will be most current

10. Components of a good budget • Materials & Supplies • Materials and supplies are expendables, such as lab supplies and specialty supplies, which the researchers need to complete the project. • In the budget, you should list each individual supply item and cost. • It's not a good idea to just list "lab supplies" or "research materials". • Remember that you should not include miscellaneous or department (general) supplies, like copy paper, office chairs, or pens, because these are included as Facilities and Administrative, or overhead, costs.

11. Components of a good budget • Patient Care Costs or Field work • For budgeting purposes, "Patient Care Costs" are the costs of routine and ancillary services provided by hospitals to individuals participating in research programs involving patients. But you must never pay patients for their samples. You can pay for time and provide them money for beverages, transportation, etc. • Projects with patient care costs always involve human subjects, so the project must have IRB approval. • Institutional Review Board (IRB) Review Fee • Researchers need to account for applicable IRB Review Fee in their proposed budgets

12. Components of a good budget Travel • General travel costs include a variety of expenses Consultants • Consultants work out of their brain, bag, or brief case, and typically work on an hourly basis. They don't use resources of a grantee entity such as a university for their work

13. Components of a good budget • Other Direct Costs • Your budget may have other direct costs which don't have their own budget categories. • This may include items such as equipment repair and maintenance, computing time, publication costs, animal care, or other costs associated with completing the project. • You should list these costs on your budget, and describe them in detail in your budget justification.

14. Components of a good budget BUDGET JUSTIFICATION • An explanation and description of the types of individual costs that make up each larger budget category. • Make it clear that all budget requests are reasonable and consistent with sponsor and grantee organisation policies. • There is generally no required format for budget justifications, they should follow the same line item format and contain the same costs as the budget form. • A reviewer should be able to place the two documents next to each other and see the connection between each item.

15. Good Budget Examples

17. Components of a typical TDR budget page

19. Budget Justification or Budget Narrative Examples 2.4 Budget justification: The budget should clearly reflect the planned activities and the costs required. Justify each and every budget line stating how the cost figures were derived in relation to the activities to be undertaken. 1. Personnel The PI position has no salary. The Co-PI, Co-Investigator, one Research Officer (to be hired) and three (3) highly qualified Research Assistants will devote roughly 10%, 10%, 100% and 100 % (each) of their time respectively in executing the project and will receive compensations or salaries as indicated. Moreover, we will continue with 2 PhD and 2 MSc research students who will work on the TDR compounds and on locally sourced compounds (for their theses). We intend to include students in the group not only for manpower but also for capacity building. All these students must have completed course work and so will devote roughly 100% each of their time to the project which will constitute at least part of their theses. All the students will receive stipends as indicated in the table. And because we noticed last year that the work was highly labour intensive, the number of workers, the allowances, stipends and salaries have been increased accordingly. Thus total amount for personnel = 25,100 USD. 2. Supplies Considerable quantities of RPMI-1640 culture medium, with its supplements including the expensive heat inactivated new born calf serum will be purchased. Disposables and reagents as listed in the SOP document will also be procured in sufficient quantities and transported to Buea. In addition, we will require CO2 gas, liquid nitrogen, kitchen gas, ethanol for sterilization, etc (see list of materials in SOP document). Pieces of cattle skin containing dozens of O. ochengi worms will be purchased at the slaughter house in . Each piece of umbilical skin (widely valued and used here as food and for local leather manufacturing) is estimated at 10 USD. For high or medium throughput screening, we intend to purchase an average of 5 pieces of skin per visit and to undertake an average of 120 visits this year. Thus cattle skin alone is estimated to cost 6,000 USD. All supplies have been estimated to cost 13,350 USD, representing a drop of 9,000 USD relative to last year since some of the supplies procured last year are yet to be used.

20. Budget justification example continues • B. Travel (total of $12,500 for Years 1-2) • Domestic travel costs will cover one trip to meet with partners ($1,250/year) and one • scientific meeting ($2,000/year). Team meeting is budgeted for $350 (air/train), and $450 • per diem (hotel, transportation, meals). Scientific meeting costs are estimated for airfare • ($600), hotel (3 x $250), transportation ($200) and meals and incidentals (3 x $150). One • international trip is included in year 1 for Dr. Abraham to travel to Cameroon (international • and local airfares and per diem) to help with oversight of L3 production ($6,000). Travel • costs to Cameroon include $2,000 for international and local airfares, and per diem for 10 • days, including hotel at $250/day and meals, airport transfers, ground transportation and • incidentals at $150/day. Per diem rates for Cameroon and other locations will adhere to the • limits determined by the US Department of State Foreign Per Diem Rates. • C. Consultants – N/A • D. Direct Supplies and Other (Total of $455,646 for Years 1-2) • The main component of the budget is for animal purchases from Jackson Laboratories, per • diem, shipping and handling charges at $333,646. We will be using NSG, Humanized-NSG • and BALBc/ByJ mice to accomplish the goals of the studies listed. $120,000 has been • allotted for general laboratory supplies over two years; this includes culture media, cell • lines, artificial and normal tissues for transplants, disposables, glassware, and diffusion

21. Thank you for listening and good luck in your next grant application