How to Petition the Dean’s Office for
Matching Funds/Cost Sharing
For Single Investigators or Small Group Proposals within WCAS
When matching funds are required for a research grant or contract budget, or when funding is needed to host a conference or pay an unusual research expense, a COST-SHARING agreement typically can be worked out between the investigators, departments, dean’s office and the University.
A MANDATORYcost match agreement is a budget requirement explicitly stated in the agency or sponsor's grant or contract guidelines, such that the total project budget must contain a minimum percentage of committed funding from the award institution (and/or a third party) in order for the sponsor to award funds for the remaining budget. For example, some NEH grants require a minimum 30% cost-share funding commitment, in order for NEH to consider funding the remaining maximum 70% of the total project budget. A second kind of cost share is VOLUNTARY. Voluntary cost sharing is needed when grants and contract guidelines do not require a specific percentage, yet it is evident that a substantive show of "institutional commitment" is essential for the proposal to be competitive. The policy statement on voluntary cost sharing is: "Northwestern University does not typically cost share on a voluntary basis, consistent with its objective of maximizing sponsor cost reimbursement to support the continued growth of the research enterprise. A voluntary cost sharing commitment should be made only where the competitive forces and perceived institutional benefit of receiving the award are deemed to be sufficiently strong to warrant the commitment."
Initiating a cost-sharing agreement: The Principal Investigator starts by securing all possible “local commitments” from investigators on the project and their department chairs and program and center directors. Next, with these commitments of local funds and effort in hand, the Principal Investigator petitions the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Craig Bina, for matching funds. In the petition to the dean, the P.I. should state whether the request is for a voluntary or mandatory match (and, if mandatory, the level of cost-sharing required by the sponsor or agency) and clearly itemize the gathered local commitments .
If Dean Bina approves funding to match the local commitments gathered by the investigators, then in turn he will petition the Office of Research and/or The Graduate School requesting a match to the combined sum of local commitments and the Dean’s office matching funds. Typically, the cost-sharing agreement ends up being a ratio of 1: 1: 2 – Local: Dean: University. This step-by-step, sequential process of obtaining matching funds, starting locally and ending with the University, assures everyone that the project has the financial support and full backing of all involved. In addition, the cost-sharing agreement becomes a tracked and auditable set of financial and effort commitments. See time line and diagram: “Process for Requesting Cost Share from the Office for Research.”
What kinds of “local” funding commitments can be used in cost sharing? Where should you look first? Whom should you ask? Assets already in place and in-kind contributions that require no new cash outlays provide the real foundation of a cost-sharing agreement. The PI should ask all related department chairs and program and center directors for their involvement and “investment” in the project. Some of the local assets that might already be in place include salaried faculty leave and course relief (in place, but not committed to other research); appropriated funds of departments and programs for research expenses, such as lab equipment, conferences, travel, and staff or graduate research time; gifts and endowment accounts; and third party contributions of effort or cost share. The dean will also assess whether the investigators have sufficient funds in their discretionary research accounts that might be used as well . Finally, when these in-kind contributions are used up, then new outlays of staff effort and finances may be considered. However, one commitment that is never allowed is cost sharing of non-salaried summer effort!
Finally, a letter of support must accompany each proposal containing matching funds in its budget. The Office of Research Development will help prepare the letter of support if it is provided with a complete draft letter clearly itemizing the support and with full documentation of each cost-sharing agreement.
For more on the COST SHARING process and University policy see the following links:
[1] DIAGRAM AND TIME LINE of process at the Office of Research Site:
http://www.research.northwestern.edu/policies/documents/cost-share.pdf
[2] OSR DESCRIPTION of Cost Sharing/Matching:
[3] NU POLICY on Cost Sharing :
http://www.northwestern.edu/coststudies/Cost_Sharing_Policy.pdf
[4] Key Effort Reporting Policies (includes "Institutional stance on voluntary cost sharing"):
http://www.northwestern.edu/asrsp/docs/effort_policy_final_june_2004.pdf