Section 1100: Research, Sponsored Projects & Public Service

Effective: January 27, 2000
Revised: June 2016; December 2022; August 2025
Last Review: August 2025
Next Review: August 2027
Responsible Party: Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management

Purpose and Need

The pursuit of funds from outside agencies to initiate research or to assist in the development of programs and facilities is a high priority of the institution. It is, however, imperative that the ramifications of receiving a particular grant or contract have been fully analyzed before the application is submitted to an outside organization for review. University units which may be impacted by proposals should be consulted during the proposal development stage and, where feasible, fully involved in the writing process.

Policy

Proposals must clearly identify institutional benefits and more specifically how individual units will benefit from initiating the activities suggested.

Long-range commitments as well as strategies to deal with those commitments must be addressed.

Grants and contracts having a personal services component will set wages and wage increases (except as provided in Policy 850.2) based upon a best estimate of comparable wages and wage increases. The actual setting of the wages and wage increases will be consistent with wages and wage increases of other similar campus employees. All collective bargaining agreements will be honored. Any additional wage increases outside of those included in the original budget must be approved by the Project Director’s or Principal Investigator’s proposal authorization signatories.

All proposals must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate reviewers. Reviewers include College Chair (if applicable), College Dean or Supervisor, Facilities or Physical Plant Representative (if required), Information Technology Services Representative (if required), Controller and Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management. The Chancellor, or the Chancellor's designee, is the final reviewer and must approve the proposal before it is submitted to an outside agency.

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs (also called facilities and administrative costs or F&A costs) are those that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity. At Montana State University-Northern, examples of indirect costs include support provided by offices such as Purchasing, Business Services, Payroll, Registrar's Office, Library Services, Grants and Sponsored Programs, building and facilities maintenance, janitorial services, and utilities such as heat, light, power; the use of office, classroom, and/or laboratory space; and administrative time spent by academic units and administration.

The full federally negotiated indirect cost rate will generally be applied on all proposals unless the funding agency prohibits indirect costs or has its own rates..  If a sponsor does not allow payment of indirect costs or the sponsor has an indirect cost rate that is different from the MSU-Northern federally negotiated rate, a copy of the sponsor’s statement to that effect must be included with the Proposal Authorization Form when it is submitted for approval.

The Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs and Business Services collaborate to submit renewal applications to the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain an active federally negotiated indirect cost rate.  The Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs maintains the documentation for the current MSU-Northern rate.  Contact the Office of Grants and Sponsored Projects for the current rate before assembling a proposal budget.

External Organization Service Contract Fee

A service contract involves a campus program providing a service (e.g., training, consulting, testing, program implementation) in collaboration with an external organization. These agreements are not grants but may be subject to an administrative fee of up to 10%.

Cost Share of Cost Match

Cost share or match is the contribution to a sponsored project that supplements sponsor funding.  In general, cost sharing and matching represent the portion of project costs not borne by the project sponsor.

Some funding opportunity announcements or notices of funding opportunities require a cost share or cost match.  The sponsor may require a 1:1 match (i.e., you must match the funds received dollar for dollar) or some other percentage. In special circumstances, the university may authorize the use of indirect costs to meet required cost sharing in grants and contracts.  Cost sharing federal funds from one federal project to another federal project is not permitted without written authorization from both federal agencies.

Cost share or match may include items or services with a cash value (such as equipment or faculty members’ time and effort).  An in-kind contribution may be used, if the sponsor allows it, to fulfill a cost share or match.  The in-kind contribution includes the value of donated space or unpaid volunteer time.

Prior to submission of any proposal requiring matching costs or funds, the Project Director (PD) or Principal Investigator (PI) must consult with their college dean or supervisor and the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs to identify a source and to document approval for any matching costs, matching funds, or in-kind contributions.  When a Proposal Authorization Form is submitted, a copy of the funding sponsor’s guidelines must be included, showing the acceptability of matching funds or contributions as proposed.

Procedures

Procedures for Submitting Proposal

Before a proposal may be submitted to a funding sponsor, it must receive institutional approval. The proposal must be reviewed by appropriate academic and administrative personnel to vet its compliance with various university, state and federal guidelines.

Proposal Approval Process

Proposal Intent to Apply Form.  Upon a decision to pursue a funding opportunity, In order to expedite the administrative review process, the Proposal Intent to Apply Form must be completed, reviewed, and signed by the College Chair (if applicable), College Dean or Supervisor, Controller, and Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management. This form should be signed before the PD/PI begins developing the proposal.  This form includes the funding opportunity information, brief summary of the project, and a total budget estimate. The purpose of this form is to allow reviewers an early opportunity to ask questions and identify potential needs for the project, such as faculty time and effort requirements, Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, or faculty needs, so that they can be addressed in the proposal. 

Proposal Authorization Form.  Prior to submitting a proposal to a funding sponsor, the Proposal Authorization Form (PAF) must be completed, reviewed, and signed.  This process ensures that the proposal is properly routed, documented, reviewed and approved prior to submission. The PAF is an internal (MSU-Northern) document and does not need to be sent to the sponsor, unless the sponsor requests it.  Documents must be reviewed along with the PAF including the final budget, close-to-final budget justification, and a summary or abstract of the proposal.  

These documents must be reviewed and the PAF must be signed by the PD/PI, College Dean or Supervisor, Controller, Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management, and the Chancellor, or the Chancellor's designee.  The form must be signed before the proposal can be submitted to the funding sponsor. 

Maintenance of Grant Related Documents

Copies of the Proposal Intent to Apply Forms, Proposal Authorization Forms, grant proposals, notice of grant awards, and other grant related documents will be stored and maintained by the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs. This information will be considered restricted data and stored and shared according to MSUN Data Classification standards.  Documents will be stored only in OneDrive/SharePoint and Teams with University-managed storage accounts on Microsoft 365.  Information will not be shared out of the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs and Business Services without permission of the PD/PI.

Procedure for Indirect Cost Recovery Allocation

The following policy on indirect cost recoveries has been adopted by MSU-Northern. Please contact Business Services for details on how to manage the allocation of indirect costs recoveries.

The allocation of indirect costs from Grants and Contracts, where such IDCs are included, shall be as follows: 25% to the Academic College or Non-Academic Departmental Unit where a grant is administered, if applicable, and 75% to Business Services for institutional expenses related to grant acquisition and other disbursements deemed appropriate by the Chancellor.