Skip to main content

Background Image for Header:

Budget Information

Forms and Templates

Budget Forms

Budget Assistance Templates

Introduction

The Office of Sponsored Programs is the central source of information for major governmental agencies, foundations, and corporations that support research and other sponsored programs, as well as a resource for WVU’s policies and procedures related to externally funded programs.

OSP staff provides assistance to faculty, administrators, other key personnel, and students with the conceptual development and planning through the implementation and administration of funded projects.

While the term “grant” is used throughout this narrative, budget assistance is provided for all external funding mechanisms used for sponsored programs. These external funding mechanisms include, but are not limited to, grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and/or other legally binding means of transfer.

Budgeting

When developing a proposal, the budget is one of the most essential components of the proposal. The proposal budget should be the last component completed because the proposed accomplishments must be determined first, in order to establish an accurate cost of how those accomplishments will be achieved.

In general, a line item budget and a corresponding budget justification are required for most proposals. The budget development process is often difficult because of the various components, policies, rates, and other factors that need to be taken into consideration.

The primary focus is to assist the Principal Investigator with translations of the basic elements required in creating a budget that meets institutional policy, the sponsor’s guidelines, and Cost Accounting Standards.

Budget Assistance

To provide assistance with the budget preparation, the Pre-Award staff members will support faculty members with the following budget elements:

  • Salaries and Wages

    A staff member will work with the Principal Investigator to provide salary verification for each individual who will be employed on the project, excluding graduate and undergraduate students.

  • Fringe Benefits

    A staff member will review the budget to ensure that the correct fringe benefit rates are used in the proposal budget.

  • Sub-awards and Contracts/Service Agreements

    There are certain criteria used by OSP to determine if a collaborative effort with an external organization/person should be classified as a sub-award or a contract/service agreement in the project budget. A staff member will discuss these requirements with the Principal Investigator and refer them to the OSP Sub-award unit for additional technical assistance, if necessary.

  • Other Direct Costs

    A staff member will review current policies and the sponsor’s guidelines for the correct rates for travel, materials, supplies, and other related costs and make any necessary revisions. If detailed travel itinerary information is available, the staff members can verify the per diem rates for all identified domestic and international travel. The PI will be responsible for determining her/his estimated airfare costs and if a rental car should be used for applicable travel situations.

  • Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs

    A staff member will review the available project narrative information, as well as the sponsor’s guidelines, to ensure that the correct F&A rate is applied to the proposed budget.

  • Budget Templates

    There are a variety of budget templates that can be used by a Principal Investigator to create her or his own budget. These budget templates will automatically calculate most components after the basic budget information is entered into the template.