Personnel Costs and Stipends

Personnel costs typically represent the largest portion of a sponsored project budget. A well-prepared personnel budget must accurately reflect the individuals required to carry out the proposed activities and the level of effort needed over the entire project period.

The personnel budget and budget justification should clearly demonstrate how staffing and effort align with the project’s scope of work, timeline, and specific aims.

Budgeting for Personnel

When developing the personnel portion of a proposal budget:

• Include all individuals who will contribute effort to the project, whether or not their salary will be charged to the award.
• Ensure that proposed effort levels are reasonable and appropriate for the work being performed.
• Confirm that personnel costs comply with sponsor policies, University requirements, and any applicable salary caps or limitations.

Important Cost Sharing Reminder

Committing effort to a project without charging the corresponding salary to the project budget is considered cost sharing.

At UMB, voluntary cost sharing of effort is not permitted unless it is explicitly required by the sponsor’s guidelines.

Information Required in the Budget Justification

For each role on the project, the budget justification must include:

• Name of the individual, or TBA (To Be Appointed) if the position has not yet been filled
• Role title on the project (e.g., Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, Study Coordinator, Core Director)
  • The role title should describe the individual’s function on the project
  • An individual’s University title (e.g., Professor) is generally not appropriate
• Amount of effort to be devoted to the project
  • Federal proposals: express effort in calendar months
  • Most other proposals: express effort as a percentage
  • If effort varies by budget period, clearly describe the differences and timing
• Brief description of responsibilities
• One to two sentences describing how the role supports the project’s specific aims

Administrative and Clerical Personnel

Salaries for administrative and clerical staff are normally treated as indirect (F&A) costs. If these costs are included as direct charges in the budget, they must be clearly and well justified.

Direct charging of administrative or clerical salaries may be allowable when a substantial amount of administrative effort is required to meet the aims of a major project. Justifications must demonstrate why these costs are necessary and integral to the project.

Administrative Expenses

Subrecipient Personnel

Personnel roles and justifications for subrecipients are included in the subrecipient’s budget justification and should not be repeated in UMB’s budget justification.

Other Significant Contributors (NIH)

Other Significant Contributors (OSCs), as defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), are individuals who:

• Contribute to the scientific development or execution of the project
• Do not commit measurable effort (person months)
• Are not paid from the award

OSCs should be listed in the NIH application as required but should not be included as budget line items.

Key Compliance Takeaway

Personnel budgets must accurately reflect project needs, comply with sponsor and University requirements, and clearly document effort and responsibilities. Inaccurate effort commitments, unapproved cost sharing, or insufficient justification can delay awards and result in compliance findings.