I agree with Charlie.  Remember, the NIH also wants the same number of modules per year unless there is a real exception (equipment, sub) so their preferred math can force a modular budget to be higher than your internal.  Naturally, you only spend what is allowable so any such "rounding up" can revert to the NIH or fund a programmatically-justified no-cost extension.

Robert Aull
IU School of Medicine

-----Original Message-----
From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@hrinet.org] On Behalf Of Charlie Hathaway
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 1:27 PM
To: xxxxxx@hrinet.org
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] interesting question regarding NIH budgeting

PI is right.

If the REQUEST to NIH is not over $250K in any year, then it is modular.

NIH EXPECTS annual increases to be included in the calculation and
for the institution to manage the abundance in early years to pay
what is needed later.

CH

At 12:55 PM 1/28/2010, you wrote:
>I just had an investigator ask me an interesting question.  He's
>putting in for an R01 and trying to keep his costs to $250,000 a
>year so he can use the modular budget.  We require a detail budget
>anyway to ensure appropriateness and to calculate indirect and
>eventually to plug into our system when the award is made.
>His internal budget started off at around $237,000 Year 1 and by
>Year 5 was over $260,000.  I explained he would need to adjust the
>budget if he wanted to use the modular budget.  His feeling is that
>as long as the total over the 5 years equates to $250,000 a year,
>he's ok because there will be carryover and prices go up every year.
>It's my feeling that that thinking is incorrect. The NIH expects you
>to plan for your needs and use $250,000 a year without planning for
>carryovers or price increases. That if he needs more, he should use
>the detailed budgeting not the modular.
>What is everyone else's understanding?
>Thanks
>Matt
>
>
>Matthew D. Katz, MHA
>Assistant Vice President,
>Sponsored Research and Contract Management
>Western University of Health Sciences
>309 E. 2nd Street
>Pomona, CA  91766
>(909) 469-5567
>(909) 469-5569 FAX
>
>
>
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