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05-026 RECOVERY & DISTRIBUTION OF FACILITY & ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS

I.  SCOPE

This policy applies to the recovery and distribution of Indirect Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs recovered in connection with external grants awarded to SUNY Canton or the Research Foundation for SUNY Canton.

II.  POLICY STATEMENT

This policy outlines a transparent allocation process that fosters rational, accountable, and well-informed institutional investments into projects and infrastructure that significantly enhance grant-seeking activities pursued at the College.

III.  POLICY

The purpose of this policy is to allocate F&A costs recovered in connection with external grants to: 1) enhance institutional support for research, scholarship, and grants; 2) increase faculty/staff competitiveness for state and national grants; 3) magnify the impact of current internal and external investments in faculty-driven research and grant-seeking activities; and 4) provide direct incentive for faculty, academic departments, and collegiate units to invest in scholarship, innovation, entrepreneurship, and special projects.

SUNY Canton will recover the total direct and indirect F&A costs on all sponsored awards unless specifically prohibited or limited by the funding agency. Because F&A costs cannot be readily assigned to a particular sponsored project or activity, they must be recovered from funding agencies through the application of the F&A cost rates approved by the funding agency. All proposals for external funding must include a budget request for F&A costs using the appropriate federal, agency, or campus F&A cost rate, unless specifically prohibited by the funding agency.

When a funding agency has published a rate that differs from the federal or campus F&A cost rate, the funding agency’s rate will be used. In these cases, the funding agency may allow some costs normally covered under the F&A cost rate to be charged as direct costs; these costs should be included in the direct cost budget request.

IV.  DEFINITIONS

Direct Costs: Costs that can be specifically identified with the project, including salaries and fringe benefits of the campus faculty and staff directly involved in working on the project, consultants, materials and supplies, purchased services, travel expenses, equipment rental, and acquisitions.

Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A) (also known as indirect costs, or IDC): costs associated with grants and sponsored programs that are incurred by the College that cannot be readily identified nor specifically attributed to a particular project, but which support research endeavors i.e.: general administration and general expense, operations and maintenance, building and equipment depreciation, library expenses, and interest.

V.  OTHER RELATED INFORMATION

None

VI.  PROCEDURES

F&A Distribution

The return of F&A generally occurs in the summer of each year and is based upon the indirect costs collected from research grants and contracts during the preceding fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). The balance of F&A recovery from academic/research-based sponsored programs, after all the research administrative costs (i.e. RF assessment, Sponsored Programs expenses) have been accounted for, will be invested back into the College as follows:

• 40% directed to the Vice President for Administration/CFO to cover overhead costs and support other strategic initiatives.
• 40% directed to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs for investment into the support of research and academic initiatives, including part-time faculty/staff support. At the discretion of the Provost, all or a portion of this allocation may be directed to School Deans, Department Chairs, and Principal Investigators to invest in and support research programs and initiatives.
• 20% directed to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for seed money or student support for early research endeavors that will result in a grant application and for staff professional development.

For non-academic/research-based grants, F&A will be distributed as follows:

• 40% directed to the Vice President for Administration/CFO to cover overhead costs and support other strategic initiatives.
• 40% directed to the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Communications for program development and staff professional development.
• 20% directed to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for program development and staff professional development.

VII.  FORMS

None

VIII.  AUTHORITY

There are no Federal or state restrictions on how recovered indirect costs can be used by the receiving university. These funds need not be allocated in the same categories and proportions used in determining the institutional indirect cost recovery rate. Accordingly, SUNY Canton has the discretion to reinvest such funds to best benefit the research enterprise.

IX.  HISTORY

None

X.  APPENDICES

None

XI.  FREQUENCY OF REVIEW AND UPDATE

Policies will have a normal review period of every five (5) years unless required otherwise.

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