NIH requires modular budgets for all applications requesting up to $250,000 in direct costs per budget period, unless otherwise stated in the program announcement.
Modular budgets request funds in $25,000 increments, called “modules.” Applicants may request up to 10 modules ($250,000) per budget period. The total number of modules requested should represent a reasonable estimate of costs that are allowable, allocable, and necessary for the proposed project. Some program announcements may limit the number of modules allowed.
Determining the Number of Modules
- Prepare a detailed line-item budget for the project.
- Round the total direct costs to the nearest $25,000 increment to determine the number of modules.
- Typically, the same number of modules is requested for each budget period. If specific costs in a budget period require a different number of modules, explain the difference in the budget justification.
Subrecipient F&A Costs:
NIH policy excludes subrecipient F&A from the module calculation. Subrecipients’ F&A is considered separate from the rest of the project direct costs.
Kuali Research Integration:
Kuali Research automatically calculates the number of modules based on your detailed budget, including F&A costs.
Modular Budget Guide October 2019
Modular Budget Justification
Modular budgets are high-level summaries; the justifications follow the same principle.
Allowed budget categories in modular justifications:
- Personnel
- Consortium (subrecipient) costs
- Variation in the number of modules requested
Do not include specific dollar amounts for supplies, travel, or other expenses. Equipment should only be justified if it affects the number of modules in any budget period.
Failure to comply with NIH modular budget formatting may result in the application being rejected without review.