Maureen-

Your reading is correct.  Yearly escalations should not be used as
justification for more or fewer modules.

You simply have to make sure that everyone understands that the amount of
money available (via the award) in the early years SHOULD NOT be used up
that year...OR there will be none left in the later years when the award
amount is less than that actually needed.

Some institutions (not mine) are going to create a new cost category called
"Future Years Reserve Carry Forward" or something like that.  For each
year, the difference between
award and need could be entered and even encumbered to help departments and
PIs manage their grants better.

Charlie Hathaway

At 04:12 PM 4/28/99 -0400, you wrote:
>We are in the process of preparing the first series of modular grant budgets
>for the June 1 deadline. An issue that has arisen is whether we can only
>request variation in the number of modules each year in cases where there
>are exceptional circumstances such as purchase of equipment. We are facing
>situations where a multi-year project has no exceptional purchases, only
>standard escalations per year, and yet requesting the same number of modules
>each year of the proposed project means we will receive substantially more
>or less in direct costs (based on the detailed budget) over the course of
>the multi-year project period. This situation would be remedied by
>requesting one module more or less for one or two years of the project.
>However, per our reading of the modular grant guidelines, any variation in
>number of modules requested must be "well-justified" and reflect
>"substantial changes in expected future activities." This is not the case
>with the above example.
>
>Has anyone else encountered this situation? Your input/feedback would be
>appreciated.
>Maureen B. McMahon
>Senior Grant and Contract Administrator
>University at Buffalo
>Office of Sponsored Programs Administration
>http://wings.buffalo.edu/spa
>Tel: 716-645-2977 ext. 111
>Fax: 716-645-3730
>email: xxxxxx@research.buffalo.edu
>
>
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**************************************
Charles B. Hathaway, Ph.D., Director
Office of Grant Support
908A Belfer
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
1300 Morris Park Avenue
Bronx, NY 10461
Phone: 718 430-3642     Fax: 718 430-8822
email: xxxxxx@aecom.yu.edu
http://www.aecom.yu.edu/ogs

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