Budget Instructions

You must complete the budget form and the budget justification. The budget form is available as a Word table or an EXCEL worksheet and can be completed on the computer. You may however choose to print it out and handwrite in the amounts. If you choose to do this make sure you print legibly. If you have too many items in a category, add a sheet of paper with the same information.

The budget submitted must reflect the true costs of the proposed project. Additional sources of support from collaborators -- whether within HealthPartners or external to it – must be listed and described. A copy of the budget for supplemental external funds must be enclosed. Indicate whether or not the funding has been awarded or if it is pending.

The budget justification is an extremely important part of the application. All expenses must be justified. Include details of each line item in the budget and explain how each expense contributes to the research project. Services available at HealthPartners may not be purchased from another hospital or laboratory. If this is necessary, a full explanation is required.

Deficit spending is not permitted on Foundation research grants. Expense records should be kept by the investigator and should be compared to the monthly financial statements. Line items in the budget will correspond to entries in monthly financial statements. The Research Committee places a high priority on the investigator's past performance in budgetary responsibility in making the grant funding recommendations.

When the primary purpose of a study is to evaluate the activity or pharmacology of a drug, the investigator must include a letter from the manufacturer stating the company's unwillingness to fund the project in whole or in part.

Expenditures must conform to the budget as approved by the Research Committee. If budget revisions become necessary during the course of the study, a written request for the Budget Revision must be submitted to Finance.

The Research Committee must approve any carryover of unused research funds for more than twenty-four months after the date of grant award. Without such approval, the research funds will automatically revert back to the Research Committee. In the event that work on a project is disrupted, the Investigator shall inform the Research Committee of the plans for completion of the project.

Instructions for Completing Budget Form

Personnel

List each person by name and identify their role on this project (i.e. principal investigator, co-investigator, statistician, programmer/analyst, coordinator, data entry, etc.)

# of months: the number of months this person will be working on this project. Occasionally someone will only work the first or last few months of a project so not everyone needs to be listed for the full project period.

% effort: the percentage of the person’s work day, week or year that will be spent on this project.

Annual Salary: base pay for one year, does not include overtime.

Benefit Rates: (see budget form)
Total: Multiply the annual salary by the % effort then multiply that product by the benefit rate. If the person is working less than a year divide that number by 12 and multiply it by the number of months they will be working.

Example: Mary Jones is employed by RHSC and will be spending 10% of her time as a coordinator on a research project for 9 months. Mary’s base salary is $35,000.

		# of	%	Annual	Benefit
Name	Role on Project	Months	Effort	Salary	Rate	Total
Mary Jones	Coordinator	9	10	35,000	1.3275	3,485

Calculation: 35000 x .1 = 3,500 x 1.3275 = 4,646.25 / 12 = 387.2 x 9 = 3,484.8

While "finders fees" are not permitted, payment to a resident or fellow for time spent and services performed beyond the usual scope of duties, after human subjects have been selected, is appropriate. The staff physicians responsible for the care of the patient should approve enrollment in clinical studies.

Consultant Costs

Consultants not employed at HealthPartners can be paid if adequate rationale is given in the budget justification. Non-HealthPartners co-investigators may not be paid as consultants.

Definition of "employee" versus "consultant": If a person is regularly employed and subject to supervision in carrying out duties, the person is considered an employee and appropriate fringe benefits should be budgeted. A consultant works on a freelance basis, is responsible for a completed product and is not supervised by a specific employee.

Statistical consultation that will be required for analyzing the data should be included in the budget.

Equipment

No equipment shall be purchased for location outside of HealthPartners, except with the prior approval of the Foundation. If you intend to request capital equipment funds, please call the Financial Manager, Bev Prawalsky at 952-967-5003 for guidance.

Travel

Funds for conferences (fees and travel) are not allowed.

Other Expenses

Laboratory tests. Special rates are available for research projects. Please call Nancy Butala (651-254-9629 or 952-883-5842) for current prices.

A maximum of $350 may be requested for photography, illustration and publication expenses. Grant funds are not to be requested for the purchase of reprints.

Budget Justification:

Personnel:

List personnel and describe their role on the project and the amount of time they will be working on the project.

Consultants:

List any consults and describe the role that they will have on the project. Explain the basis for their reimbursement.

Equipment:

List any equipment that will be purchased with this grant. Justify the need for this project and explain what will happen to the equipment once the project is complete.

Supplies:

List supplies and what they’ll be used for, explain how you determined the amount and cost.

Travel:

Local mileage reimbursement and parking may be requested in order to complete your project. Most typically reimbursement is for expenses incurred doing data collection.

Other Expenses:

Describe any other direct costs and how they were determined.