Facilities and administrative costs (F&A) (Overhead, Indirect Costs) are institutional costs that are not readily identifiable with a particular project or activity but which are necessary to the general operation of the institution and to the conduct of each of the activities performed. Facilities and administrative cost rates are determined in accordance with cost principles promulgated by the federal government and are determined by UGA’s cognizant federal agency every three years. For more information please visit UGA’s Sponsored Projects Administration website. Should you have any questions regarding the rate to apply to your sponsored project please reach out to Ecology’s grants coordinator, Jenna Jones, at [email protected].

It is the policy of the University to provide for the full recovery of facilities and administrative costs in all proposals submitted to prospective sponsors. In order to comply with Board of Regents accounting requirements, indirect cost recovery funds must be budgeted and expended in a unique operation within the existing university account structure.

In accordance with University policy, 20% of the indirect cost funds received by the University are allocated to the originating or budgetary unit. In the case of accounts for research projects, 50% will be allocated by the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGARF), and 50% will be allocated by the University.

In accordance with Ecology’s policy, 13% of the total amount of return will be re-allocated to the originating faculty member and the rest will remain with the College, to be spent at the discretion of the Dean. This reallocation equates to 2.5-3% of the indirect written into the grant.

The Dean reserves the right to release or not release IDC to faculty depending on the financial nature of the College. If funds have been released in any given year the Dean reserves the right to pull back funds depending on the financial nature of the College. Determining factors may include, but are not limited to: start-up packages, salary supplements, renovations, recurring research commitments, etc.

Faculty should use their funds to support research costs that can not be covered by a sponsored project or grant.

Those that do not earn IDC and that have requests that fall into the research F&A definition request will submit an email proposal to the Dean with a copy to each Associate Dean and the AFD. This request will be reviewed at a following Leadership meeting. When possible, requests should be presented at least one (1) month in advance. Leadership reserves the right to approve or deny this request using IDC funds and may count against any year end fund request.