[Office-of-research] Budgeting to-be-named post doc benefits in extramural proposals

[Bruce Morgan]

UC Office of the President (UCOP) guidance provides for the use of composite
fringe benefit rates when budgeting to-be-named positions in proposals for
sponsored programs (i.e., budgeting a post doc position when the actual
employee is not known at the time of proposal submission).  However, after
discussions with UCOP, the Office of Research (OR) was able to confirm that
UCR could develop its own post doc composite benefit rate.  Consequently, we
requested that the Office of Academic Planning and Budget (APB) conduct a
review and they determined that the average benefit rate for post doc
employees is 35%.

APB has provided OR with a memo authorizing the use of this rate when
estimating costs in proposal budgets when the actual employee is not known.
APB will re-evaluate the rate in March or April of 2006 to determine the
appropriate rate for fiscal year 06-07 and will re-evaluate the rate each
year thereafter.

Effective immediately, please use 35% as the applicable fringe benefit rate
when budgeting to-be-named post docs in proposals.  Please note that the
federal costing principles and regulations with which UCR must comply
require consistency in the application of this rate.  Therefore, proposal
budgets that use a rate other than 35% for to-be-named post docs will need
to be corrected prior to OR approval and proposal submission.

Please continue to use actual fringe benefit rates when budgeting fringe
benefit costs for post docs who are known at the time of proposal. 

If you have any questions regarding budgeting for to-be-named post doc
positions in extramural proposals, please contact the Contract and Grant
Officer assigned to your unit
(http://ora.ucr.edu/OraRoot/ORA/Staff/StaffByAcademicUnitDynamic.asp).


Bruce Morgan
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research
Office of Research