Advance Accounts Ancillary Costs Non-Travel Meal Reimbursement On-/Off-Campus Indirect Cost Rates Over Expenditure Tuition on Grants University Policies
Advance Accounts
An Advance Account may be established upon notice that a formal award is forthcoming but for which an agreement has not yet been signed. Setting up an Advance Account enables the Principal Investigator (PI) to begin spending a portion of the anticipated budget on project activities prior to having a fully executed award in place. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) has an established process and form to request setup of an Advance Account. The Friedman School established its own internal procedure for requesting and managing Advance Accounts, including an addendum to the OVPR form, for requesting and managing Advance Accounts.
Ancillary Costs
In the event a sponsor or funding announcement requires the use of an indirect cost rate that is less than Tufts University’s applicable negotiated rate, the University allows for the recovery of the cost of the proposed activity via direct charging of all allocable ancillary costs of the project, to the extent permitted by the sponsor. University guidelines for this can be reviewed here. Additionally, the School has an established policy and procedure that must be followed. Please access the School-specific details here.
Non-Travel Meal Reimbursement
This guidance is provided to help faculty, staff, and students determine the reasonableness and the allowability of meals charged to sponsored funds. Your research administrator can help you assess the considerations noted in this guidance prior to committing to the allowability of the meal. If needed, your research adminsitrator can facilitate a discussion to obtain prior approval from the sponsor.
On/Off Campus Indirect Cost Rate (Coming Soon!)
The Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) between Tufts University and its federal cognizant agency requires that direct project costs be apportioned between an on-campus and an off-campus indirect cost rate. Tufts University has established a policy on this here. In order to maintain consistency across the Friedman School sponsored research portfolio, this document establishes the circumstances under which sponsored project direct costs may be classified as off‐campus costs.
Over Expenditure
From time to time, a grant budget may become overspent due to 1) an internal budget reconciliation needed between a Tufts internal home account and scope accounts, 2) pending incremental funding release, or 3) pending labor recertification or cost transfer. University over expenditures are reported to the community via a Tableau report that refreshes on a nightly basis. In order to mitigate financial risk that can arise from slow action to resolve over expenditures, the Friedman School established an internal procedure to address and manage possible Over Expenditures.
Graduate Student Tuition and Fees Charged on Sponsored Awards
Per Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) policy, tuition may be charged to sponsored funding only if the School has developed and filed with OVPR a consistent approach to apply tuition charges to sponsored projects. The Friedman School therefore developed its policy to charge graduate student tuition and fees on all sponsored awards. Please work with your assigned research administrator to develop a proposal budget compliant with this policy.
University Research Administration Policies
Many of Tufts' university-wide research administration policies are managed by the Research Administration and Development (RAD) office within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) and include:
- 5 Day Rule: Institutional Review Process for Proposal Submission
- Application of Off-campus and On-Campus F&A Rates
- Charging Graduate Tuition to Sponsored Awards
- Collaborative Sponsored Projects
- Cost Sharing on Sponsored Awards
- Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Costs on Sponsored Awards: Recovery and Distribution
- Institutional Base Salary for Sponsored Awards
- Pre-Proposals for Sponsored Projects
- Prior Approval on Sponsored Awards
- Purchase or Development of Equipment with Additional Infrastructure Needs
- Residual Balance on Sponsored Awards
- Resolution of Outstanding Balances on Sponsored Awards
- Subrecipient Monitoring Policy
- Subrecipient vs Contractor Classification