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A. The Principal Investigator (PI)
The Principal Investigator (or project director) is the individual who has overall responsibility for carrying out the sponsored research project and ensuring that all requirements of the funding agency and Wellesley College are met. The PI conceives the research project, prepares the proposal (with the assistance of the Office of Sponsored Research), manages the day-to-day conduct of the project (including its financial administration), and submits technical progress and final reports as necessary. Some agencies allow two or more individuals to act as co-PIs.
Ordinarily, a PI must have a faculty appointment at Wellesley during the period of the funded project. A faculty member holding a temporary appointment may apply for a grant with the understanding that the College's commitment to house the research will expire along with his or her contract, and the grant will need to be transferred to the PI's new institution.
B. Collaboration with Colleagues at Other Institutions
Faculty who apply for funding with colleagues at other institutions will normally have to choose whether to submit the proposal through Wellesley or through their collaborator's institution, ordinarily on the basis of where the majority of the project will take place. The two most common scenarios are described below. Any faculty member planning to prepare a proposal with a colleague should consult with the Director of Sponsored Research as early as possible.
1. If the proposal is submitted by Wellesley College, the other PI's expenses may be included as line items on the proposal budget or may be included as a subcontract to the co-PI's home institution. In either case, any inclusion of co-PI summer salary or released time must be approved by the home institution.
2. If the proposal is submitted by the other PI's institution, the Wellesley PI's expenses may be treated in either of the two ways already described. Ordinarily Wellesley's fringe benefits and indirect costs should be included in any subcontract budget.
Occasionally a funding agency will suggest that co-PIs at different institutions submit separate proposals, with identical text but individual budgets, for separate grants to the individual institutions.
The proposal is a comprehensive description of the project and usually consists of two main parts: a technical or narrative section and a budget. Almost all funding organizations have guidelines which must be followed; most federal agencies supply their own forms, which are available from the Office of Sponsored Research.
A proposal usually includes the following sections:
1. Cover page: a quick reference sheet containing selected information about the proposal. The signature of an authorized organizational representative (Vice President for Finance and Administration) commits the College to carry out the project if funding is received and certifies that statements contained in the proposal are true.
2. Abstract or project summary.
3. Statement of work: a full and detailed description of the project, including background, goals and objectives, methodology, significance, personnel, etc. Some funding sources specify page limits.
4. Supplementary materials: bibliography, curriculum vita(e), resources and facilities, other support, appendices (where appropriate).
5. Budget and budget justification.
The budget represents the PI's best estimate of the costs of doing the work described in the proposal. The general rule of thumb is that a budget should include all costs necessary to carry out the project in a cost-effective manner. A "padded" budget is usually obvious to reviewers, who themselves have an idea of the approximate cost of doing the proposed research. An artificially small budget may seem to indicate a PI who doesn't have enough knowledge to know what resources will be necessary to complete the work.
Direct costs are costs that can be specifically identified with a particular project. They include items such as salaries, fringe benefits, equipment, supplies, travel, and publication charges. Indirect costs are costs that can not be directly associated with a particular project. They include general operating costs such as library services, maintenance, etc. Direct costs should be explained in the budget justification, which usually follows the budget itself. Justification of indirect costs is not necessary in each proposal, since the appropriate rate is negotiated with the federal government or is determined by the guidelines of the funding agency.
The Office of Sponsored Research can help with preparation of an accurate budget. Keep in mind that projects lasting more than one year usually require a budget request for each year in addition to an overall total. Multiyear budgets should provide for inflation.
Often, a funding agency will notify an applicant that an award will be made at a reduced level of funding. The PI may then be asked to submit a revised budget, which should be drawn up according to the same agency and College guidelines used to construct the original proposal budget.
Common budget categories include:
1. Salaries and wages. Salaries and wages for all personnel who will be working on the project should be included. Internal Revenue Service regulations require that anyone contributing effort to the project must be considered a temporary employee of the College, unless the person being paid is in a business which normally provides the services being performed.
For each person, indicate the time to be spent on the project (e.g. full-time 12 months, ten hours/week for academic year, etc.) and the amount to be paid by the funding agency. Where appropriate, indicate the base salary and the method used to arrive at the requested amount. Include estimates of salary increases and explain in the budget justification.
- PI academic year salary (released time): ordinarily the amount budgeted is calculated so that % of salary equals the % of release (e.g. 25% of salary is included for a 1/4 reduction in teaching load). Ordinarily, released time should not exceed one course unit per year.
- PI summer salary: this amount is ordinarily limited to 2/9 of the nine-month contract salary.
- Salary for other key personnel or support personnel (e.g. faculty collaborator, postdoc, technician, research assistant, interviewer): salary included should be adequate to cover the current average compensation for the level of expertise and the degree of experience required for the position. Amounts can be estimated by consulting with colleagues at Wellesley and other Boston-area institutions and the Personnel Office. Allowance for appropriate annual increases should be made.
- Student assistants paid hourly wages: use the student wage scale published annually by the Student Employment Office. Note that the scale includes three levels of wages, depending on the skill required, and that student wages are $1.00 per hour higher during January and the summer.
- Summer stipends for student research assistants: the amount of the stipend is generally pegged to that recommended by NSF in its Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program and covers ten weeks of full-time work. Check with the Science Center Office (Ext. 3000) for the current amount.
2. Fringe benefits. Fringe benefits are calculated as a percentage of salaries and wages and include all benefits: retirement, health and life insurance, Social Security, etc. The fringe benefit rate is negotiated periodically with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and is subject to change. The current rate can be obtained from the Office of Sponsored Research.
Wages of (a) employees not eligible for full benefits and (b) students working during the summer are subject to Social Security, unemployment insurance and worker's compensation benefits. The reduced fringe benefit rate can also be obtained from the Office of Sponsored Research.
Student wages during the academic year are not subject to fringe benefits.
3. Equipment. The federal government defines permanent equipment as property with a purchase price of $500 or more and a useful life of two or more years. Equipment purchased under a grant must be necessary to the research and not available or easily accessible. It is the PI's responsibility to determine the lack of availability or accessibility before including an equipment request in the budget. An inventory of equipment purchased with federal funds since June 1990 is available from the Assistant Controller/Grants Accountant.
Each item of equipment requested should be listed separately (with as much specific information about name, model number and manufacturer as possible) and justified in the budget justification. The cost of shipping and installation should also be included.
Ordinarily, the purchase of general purpose equipment (e.g. office furniture, data processing equipment, word processors, etc.) is not allowed.
4. Travel. Domestic and foreign travel are listed separately. The budget justification should indicate who will travel, where, and why, estimated air fare (or other cost of transportation), cost of meals and lodging, meeting registration fees, etc. Unless further restricted by federal regulations, all travel is subject to general College policy, which is described in a separate travel memo issued by the Controller's Office (see Appendix II).
5. Materials and supplies. Materials and supplies include consumable items (e.g. chemicals, laboratory breakables, stationery, printer ribbons, etc.) required for the project. The amount requested should be supported by descriptions of the items included and estimates of their costs.
6. Publication costs. Publication costs include journal charges, cost of illustrations, and costs of preparing and reproducing reports required by the agency. They should be itemized in the budget.
7. Other. Other allowable expenses include such items as postage, telephone, photocopying, animal care, equipment repair, and subscriptions to periodicals. These expenses should be itemized in the budget.
8. Less frequently used budget categories include consultant services and subcontracts to collaborating colleges and universities. PIs including such items in the budget should consult the Office of Sponsored Research.
9. Indirect costs. Indirect costs are expenses that are related to the conduct of research but that can not be directly attributable to a particular project. The indirect cost rate used by Wellesley College is negotiated periodically with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in accordance with federal regulations. The rate we use is the result of that negotiation and represents the portion of the College's indirect costs that the government agrees to bear.
The current indirect cost rate can be obtained from the Office of Sponsored Research. It is expressed as a percentage of salaries and wages in the budget. Only wages of regular College employees are included in total salaries and wages when calculating the amount of indirect costs.
Non-federal sponsors frequently do not allow full recovery of indirect costs. In all cases, application guidelines should be consulted.
E. Processing a Proposal for Submission
Before a proposal or revised budget can be submitted to the funding agency, it must be circulated for internal review with a Wellesley College Proposal Summary (pink) sheet (Appendix III). If the project requires matching funds, the green Project Summary sheet (Appendix IV) should be used. PIs should allow 2 - 3 working days for this internal review.
In order to be circulated, the proposal should be complete. In unusual circumstances, signatures can be obtained if all financial information is in its final form and the project description provided is a near-final draft. The review process is as follows:
1. The PI completes and signs the proposal, summarizes the required information on the pink (or green) sheet, and signs the sheet. In addition, for projects in the Science Center, he or she makes sure that the project's space needs can be accommodated by submitting the Science Center Space Use Form (see p.12). The PI is responsible for circulating the proposal to the Department Chair and the Office of Sponsored Research.
2. The signature of the Department Chair reflects the Chair's knowledge that the proposal is being submitted and approval of requests for released time or financial commitments.
3. The signature of the Director of the Office of Sponsored Research implies review of the budget for accuracy, compliance with College policy and agency and federal requirements, and approval of Science Center space use. The Office of Sponsored Research is responsible for circulating the proposal to the Dean of the College and the Vice President for Finance and Administration.
4. The Dean of the College reviews the proposal to see that it is consistent with general College policies and goals.
5. The Vice President for Finance and Administration is the person who signs the proposal for the College. The Vice President is authorized by the Board of Trustees to commit the College to the performance of a project and to accept funding on behalf of the College and its faculty.
F. Copying and Mailing the Proposal
Once the proposal has been signed, the Office of Sponsored Research will make the number of copies required by the agency as long as three working days remain until the proposal must be mailed. When possible, appendices which require multiple copies should be submitted for copying one week before the mailing deadline. PIs who do their own copying and mailing should submit one copy of the complete proposal to the Office of Sponsored Research.
The Office of Sponsored Research will mail proposals which have a postmark deadline by certified first class mail with return receipt requested. Only when a proposal must be received by a certain date will we pay for overnight mail (e.g. UPS, Federal Express). PIs should check with the agency or the Office of Sponsored Research to determine whether their deadlines are "postmarked by" or "received by".
Faculty members submitting fellowship proposals or applications for other grants which do not require institutional review and signature may have their proposals copied and mailed by the Office of Sponsored Research as long as they allow three working days before the mailing deadline.