Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A) on Sponsored Projects

Dr. David Norton, Vice President for Research

Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A) are real costs, fixed in support of the research and other sponsored activities at the University of Florida (UF).  F&A costs provide reimbursement for actual expenses that support extramural activities but cannot be directly charged to a sponsored project.  The costs result from shared services such as libraries, physical plant operation, and maintenance, utility costs, general, departmental and sponsored projects administrative expenses, and depreciation or use allowance for buildings and equipment.

Further, OMB Circular A-21 Section G. 1.a.(3).  Determination and application of F&A cost rate or rates provides “Each institution’s F&A cost rate process must be appropriately designed to ensure that Federal sponsors do not in any way subsidize the F&A costs of other sponsors, specifically activities sponsored by industry and foreign governments.”

Appropriate recovery of F&A for all activities is a necessary means to support those projects and to support compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.  Under-recovery of the costs for any individual project places a disproportionate burden on UF rather than the sponsor of the activity.  Significant reductions in the state appropriations for the University’s activities have made the recovery of F&A costs on sponsored agreements more crucial to UF’s ability to provide the research infrastructure required for excellence in research and scholarship.

To this end, the University is reiterating its policy to budget the full federal negotiated F&A rate on all applications and awards unless that Sponsor has a published policy restricting recovery or is a public entity listed on the Division of Sponsored Programs F&A page.  Clinical Trials should recover F&A at a rate of 28% of Total Direct Costs.

Information detailing the appropriate rates and a link to the UF policy is available online at: http://research.ufl.edu/faculty-and-staff/proposal-development-submission/budgeting-information/fa-rates-idc.html.

Any questions about the training can be directed to Stephanie Gray, Director, Division of Sponsored Research at 352/273-4062 or slgray@ufl.edu.