Please see below for reminders related to cost sharing. These key points, along with a handout (Cost Sharing Best Practices and Resources), were recently distributed to college research leadership.
- Pre-Award Timeline for PIs:
- The best options for cost share include contributed effort and unrecovered F&A. As long as the individuals contributing effort are not soft funded, this is the most straightforward option.
- The PI is responsible for identifying and securing sources of cost share. While the RA can provide general guidance and common examples, the PI must ultimately decide on the strategy and engage with internal and external collaborators and stakeholders as needed.
- Important Reminders:
- Cost share commitments must be fulfilled during the project period.
- Requests for KE to contribute cost share are reviewed individually. There isn’t a standard rule for KE’s contribution; we provide starting points for departments when developing their requests.
- Common Mistakes:
- Overcommitting: Offering more cost share than required by the federal agency ties up our resources, limiting our ability to allocate funds to other projects. Cost share commitments are binding obligations.
- Failure to Track: This can lead to a shortfall at the end of the project and potential non-compliance.
- Misunderstanding Allowable Cost Share: This can jeopardize funding and lead to disallowed costs during an audit.
By Research Operations