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University of New Hampshire. Fiscal Year 2013 Space Inventory and Functional Usage Study Information Session. Presented by Attain LLC March 2013. Session Overview. Project Team Background Space Study Procedures Functional Usage Definitions Guidelines for Selected Room Types
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University of New Hampshire Fiscal Year 2013 Space Inventory and Functional Usage Study Information Session Presented by Attain LLC March 2013
Session Overview • Project Team • Background • Space Study Procedures • Functional Usage Definitions • Guidelines for Selected Room Types • Determining Functional Usage • Federal Review Issues • Project Timeline • On-line Space Survey Process • Questions
Project Team • Research Community • Researchers • Deans & Department Chairs • Departmental Administrators • UNH Administration • VPFA Office • Scott Towle • Kerry Scala • Executive Steering Committee • Joanna Young, Co-Chair • Jan Nisbet, Co-Chair • Leigh Anne Melanson • Kerry Scala • Scott Towle
Project Team • UNH Administration (Cont.) • Working Committee • Tammy Goldberg • Tracy Boyle • David Browning • Kerry Scala • Scott Towle • Attain, LLC
Background What are Facilities and Administrative (F & A) costs? F & A costs, also known as indirect or overhead costs, are those costs associated with the sponsored activities of the UNH research enterprise which cannot be readily associated with an individual project. • Facilities costs are defined as building and equipment depreciation, interest on debt associated with certain buildings, equipment and capital improvements, operation and maintenance expenses, and library expenses. • Administration costs are defined as general administration, departmental administration, and sponsored projects administration.
Background Calculating the F & A Rate • F & A Costs • Overhead costs incurred to support Research activities: • Depreciation of Buildings & Equipment • Operation & Maintenance Expenses • Interest Expense • Library • Administrative Services • Direct Costs • Costs incurred in performing Research activities: • Salaries and fringe benefits of research personnel • Research lab supplies and materials • Travel F & A Costs Direct Costs $21,150,000 $45,000,000 F & A Cost Rate $21,150,000/$45,000,000 = 47%
Background Current Research Rate at UNH (FY 13): On-Campus: 47% Building Depreciation 2.6% Equipment Depreciation 1.4% Interest 0.7% Operations and Maintenance 12.8% Subtotal 17.5% Library 3.5% Administrative Component 26.0% Off-Campus: 26.0%
Background Facilities Component of F&A Rate • 21 points of the current 47% research rate • Rate components are not capped • Potential to increase reimbursement of costs associated with conducting research • All facilities cost pools except library are allocated based on space functional usage statistics • Space study is a criticalcomponent of the F&A rate proposal
Background Importance of the Space Study • F&A Cost Reimbursement • Annual reimbursement is approximately $20 million • Facilities components, which represent more than 17 points of the current organized research rate, are determined based on square footage statistics resulting from the space study. • One point on the rate is worth approximately $225 thousand annually or $900 thousand for the anticipated 4 year term of the next rate agreement • Federal Compliance • For buildings with more than one function, Federal regulations require the allocation of facilities costs based on functional use of space. • Federal regulations require the allocations to be “appropriately documented in sufficient detail for subsequent review by the cognizant federal agency.”
Background Specific Goals of Space Study • Identify all activities performed in each room for reasonable cost allocations. • Develop proposal statistics that are defensible during rate negotiations with the Federal government. • Use methodologies that comply with Federal government requirements and that provide the best cost recoveries. • The functional space use survey is subject to review/audit by the cognizant federal agency (HHS).
Space Study Procedures Survey Complete! Attain Quality Review Determine Functional Use Identify Projects & Occupants Validate Room Demographics Reconcile the Space (Physical Area, Floor Plans, Room List)
Space Study Procedures Critical Success Factors • First hand knowledge of how the space was used during fiscal year 2013(7/1/2012 - 6/30/2013) • An understanding of the activities performed in the room • Information on funding sources related to the activities for the space (grants, contracts, institutional funds, etc.) • Access to the space and occupants of the space • PI involvement • Contact/meet with PIs to gather necessary information
Space Study Procedures Getting Started • Survey information must be entered in AttainSpace, a web-based application • Room inventory report available on web site is populated with demographic information from the database maintained by University Facilities Office • The online Room Survey Form must be completed for each room assigned to the department
Space Study Procedures Validating Room Demographic Information • Review room list accuracy and completeness • Rooms used by department during FY 2013 missing from list • Rooms on list not used by department during FY 2013 • Confirm that room type is accurate • Different survey process for certain room types • Identify Responsible Person • List Principal Investigator/Lab Director • For rooms used by multiple PI’s, list “Multiple” as the responsible person and identify each PI and the percentage related to each PI in the “Comments” section
Space Study Procedures Documenting Rooms Where Sponsored Activity Is Taking Place • List ALL personnel who occupied each lab on a regular basis during FY 2013 (e.g, Faculty, Research Staff, Post Docs, Technicians, Graduate Students, Undergraduate Students, Visiting Scientists, Volunteers) • Occupant information is NOT required for lab service rooms or multi-purpose rooms coded based on joint use • Identify all Fund/Org numbers (sponsored and non-sponsored) that fund the projects performed in each room
Space Study Procedures Completing the Room Survey Process • Room functional percentages should reflect how the room was used over the entire fiscal year rather than a snapshot at a point in time. • Involve PI in process to confirm accuracy of information for labs. • Estimate percentages related to each activity performed in the room. • Functional coding must take into account all room occupants/users and the fund sources that support the activities • Matching space and base – functions identified must be consistent with the classification of the funding for activities performed in the room • Departmental staff should maintain notes on how they determined the functional percentages for each room and be prepared to defend them during the Federal review of the F&A rate proposal. It is usually a year or longer between the time the space study is conducted and the Federal review.
Functional Usage Definitions The functional usage of a room identifies a percentage of time a function (activity) is being performed in a room during the fiscal year of the survey. For UNH’s space survey, you will be classifying activity using one or more of following functional categories: • Organized Research • Instruction/Department Research • Other Sponsored Activities • Departmental Administration • Other Institutional Activities • Service Centers • Joint Use • Vacant/Inactive • Operations & Maintenance ** • General Administration ** • Sponsored Projects Admin ** • Library ** ** These activities are generally not performed in space occupied by academic departments and research centers. Definitions for these categories are provided in a separate document.
Determining Functional Usage • Rooms should be functionalized based on the activities performed in that space during FY 2013 • For a faculty member who teaches and has grants, research lab space will be coded different from office or teaching lab space • The functional use classification for each room must be consistent with the salary distribution of the individuals using the space. If the room occupants work on research projects but are not funded by a grant, the space must be classified as departmental research. • Functional coding should take into account the extent of use by each occupant • A student working in the lab 10 hours per week for only part of the year should be counted much less than a technician who works in the lab 40 hours per week for the entire year • Functional use percentages must total 100% for each room
Determining Functional Usage Sample Work Plan – the way to “think” through the answers is: • Who occupies the lab suite or room? Identify all individuals, paid and unpaid, that have occupied the room during the year. • How are they funded for the work they do in the lab suite or room? • Are there any unpaid occupants in the room, e.g. unpaid students, visiting scholars not paid by UNH? • Relative to one another, how much time is spent by each person in the lab suite or room? (e.g., PIs and Grad Students may spend less time than Technicians.)
Determining Functional Usage For Research Lab Suites, the first instinct is 100% Organized Research, but… • Are some individuals working in the lab suite funded from departmental funds, e.g. lab set-up funds or seed money? • Are other activities taking place in the lab suite that are not part of an organized research project? • Are there any unpaid occupants in the lab suite? • Answering “Yes” to these questions is perfectly acceptable; it just means we should not code the room 100% Organized Research
Determining Functional Usage Lab Example #1a If technicians or students in a research lab are working on Organized Research projects and their compensation for all of their work in the lab is paid by those projects (or is reported as cost sharing on the projects in their effort reports) then Code space they use in the labs as “Organized Research”
Determining Functional Usage Lab Example #1b However, if technicians or students in a research lab are working on Organized Research projects and their salary is wholly or partially paid from department / institutional funds (and is not reported as cost sharing on an Organized Research project), then Code space used for the work paid with departmental / institutional funds as “Department Research”.
Determining Functional Usage Lab Example #2 A research lab with only one occupant is used for work on NIH Research Awards ABC and XYZ and Occupant is paid 25% from ABC, 25% from XYZ, and 50% departmental funds • If the work associated with departmental funding takes place in other space (e.g., office, seminar room), then: Code lab space as 100% “Organized Research” • If the work associated with departmental funding is performed in the lab, then: Code lab space as 50% “Organized Research” 50% “Department Research”
Determining Functional Usage Example #3 • Lab is used for work on NIH research awards as well as “exploratory/start-up research” • Lab occupants and funding sources: • PI paid on 25% on NIH award – works in lab in summer and 1 day/week during academic year (0.3 FTE) • 2 FT technicians paid 100% from NIH research awards (2 FTE) • 1 FT post doc paid 80% from NIH research award and 20% from departmental research funds (1 FTE) • 1 unpaid undergraduate student – worked in the lab 12 hours/week during the Spring semester for academic credit (0.1 FTE) • 1 unpaid student intern – worked 25 hours/week for 8 weeks in summer (0.1 FTE) • Visiting faculty not paid by the University who spent 50% of time for entire fiscal year in this lab (0.5 FTE) 3.05 FTE Research / 4 Total FTE = ~ 80% Organized Research
Project Timeline Important Dates: • On-line survey process must be completed by 04/30/2013. • Quality assurance review of survey results will be performed during May through July.
On-line Space Survey Process Location of the web-based space survey application www.attainspace.com
On-line Space Survey Process Survey Status • Remaining – Room record has not been updated and saved since import. • In Progress – Room record has been updated and saved, but has not passed the validation rules. • Accepted – Room record has been updated, saved and has passed the validation tests. All rooms must be in “Accepted” category for survey to be complete.
On-line Space Survey Process Business Rules • Room functional usage must total 100%. • All rooms with a percentage identified to OR orOSA must have at least one project listed that has a corresponding function code. • In addition to a valid account, all research labs with a percentage identified to OR orOSA must have a least one occupant listed who is funded from an project that has a corresponding function code. • Must satisfy all three business rules to move to “Accepted” category. • Accepted rooms subject to further quality assurance review procedures
