State of Michigan Contents: What's New Proposal Guidance Budget Guidelines Compliance Award Guidance Subawards Prior Approvals Reporting Effort Reporting / Cost Share Record Retention Sponsor Resources Forms and Templates Archives What's New No new items at this time. Proposal Guidance The State of Michigan (SOM) has 19 executive departments. Due to the number of departments, SOM proposal requirements vary considerably in format and content. Therefore, it is essential that each solicitation be thoroughly reviewed. MSU may receive funds from SOM as a stand-alone project or as part of a Master Agreement (e.g. MDHHS, MDNR). Stand-Alone Projects These proposals are typically competitive and may include federal flow through funds. Stand-alone projects may be submitted in eGrAMS or other systems such as Bid4Michigan or SIGMA VSS. If the prime sponsor is a federal agency, all federal regulations apply, such as financial conflict of interest and applicable F&A rates. Refer to the solicitation for specific requirements and direct any questions to your proposal team. MDHHS Master Agreement Projects MSU receives funding for approximately 50 or more projects each year under the MDHHS Master Agreement. These proposals are submitted in EGrAMS and the project period is typically October 1-September 30. The PI will usually enter discussions with MDHHS Program Officers in the spring. Since this is before MDHHS officially releases the initial allocation via system email, OSP does not have a role in reviewing the budget at this time. You can work with your research administrator to start developing a budget appropriate for the project scope. After discussions, Program Officers at MDHHS will finalize allocations for inclusion in the Master Agreement. MSU typically receives the list of projects and allocations under the master agreement in July, but this may be delayed by the SOM. Once the list of projects is received, OSP Proposal Team 1 will notify the PIs and research administrators of the allocations; budgets should be finalized and PDs should be routed at this time. Research administrators will enter the proposal information in EGrAMS and OSP will review and submit to the SOM. After all projects are submitted in eGrAMS and approved by MDHHS, the agreement is sent to MSU for execution. We aim to complete this by September for the project start date of October 1. If SOM delays sending MSU the allocations, execution of the agreement may also be delayed. Projects may be adjusted, added, or removed under subsequent amendments throughout the year. If you need assistance with logging into EGrAMS, please contact Proposal Team 1 in OSP. Budget Guidelines The guidelines listed here are generally applicable to this sponsor. Please refer to the solicitation for any deviation to standard guidelines or specific requirements for a program. Personnel Salary Salaries should be based on KR values unless a known increase/decrease is expected, for example due to a change in title/rank; salaries are usually escalated in the out years by 2-3% Fringe Fringe should be based on KR values Research Associate (Post Doc) Salary Salaries should be based on KR values if a current employee; the current minimum salary for a Post Doc can be found at this link Research Associate (Post Doc) Fringe Fringe should be based on KR values; Post Docs are eligible for retirement in the 4th year of employment, or immediately if they participated in a retirement plan at a previous employer that made employer contributions. Please contact HR for more information. Graduate Student Stipend Stipend amounts should be based on standard/published college/department levels or HR levels Graduate Student Fringe Appropriate health benefits should be applied based on the current Grad Fringe Chart; 7.65% for summer hourly work Undergraduate Labor Usually based on hourly rates; see HR standard rates Undergraduate Fringe Fringe of 7.65% applied during the summer; fringe only applied during AY if student is not expected to be enrolled full time Administrative Staff Allowable per UG if justified and necessary for the project; salaries and fringes must be based on KR values Equipment Allowable items ordinarily will be limited to research equipment not already available for the conduct of the work Participant Support Costs May be allowable; refer to the solicitation for guidance or program restrictions Travel Domestic Generally allowable for employees who travel on business related to the award; travel outside the state of Michigan may require prior approval; maximum state travel rates may be enforced; justification should include the purpose of travel, destination, dates of travel (if known) or estimated number of days, and the number of individuals for each trip; consult solicitation for program-specific travel restrictions International Generally not applicable; may be allowable with prior approval for employees who travel on business related to the award; justification should include the purpose of travel, destination, dates of travel (if known) or estimated number of days, and the number of individuals for each trip; consult solicitation for program-specific travel restrictions Other Direct Costs Communications Allowable if not otherwise treated as F&A costs; should be allocable to the project Computer Services/ADP Rates for internal (i.e. MSU) services must be approved by Financial Analysis; quotes or other justification can be provided to OSP, or the PI/research administrator should keep quotes/documentation on file Conferences Generally allowable; meals may not be allowable; refer to the solicitation and sponsor guidelines for restrictions Consultant Services Justification should include: services performed, total number of days, travel costs, total estimated costs; consult solicitation for program-specific restrictions (e.g., maximum daily rate, allowability of cost, etc.) Equipment/Facility Rental Allowable to the extent rates are reasonable Event Registration Fees Generally allowable for MSU employees traveling to conferences related to the project; refer to the solicitation and sponsor guidelines for restrictions Graduate Student Tuition & Fees Should match the graduate student tuition chart; tuition should be prorated based on project dates Honoraria Generally unallowable; speaker fees or other payments for services are allowable Incentives Incentive should not be so great as to coerce or unduly influence participation in the project Materials & Supplies Details and justification should be included for items requested to support the project Meals/Refreshments Generally unallowable; refer to the solicitation and sponsor guidelines for allowability of costs Publication/Dissemination Generally allowable Service Charges/CORE Services Rates for internal services must be based on Financial Analysis approved rates; quotes or other justification can be provided to OSP, or the PI/research administrator should keep quotes/documentation on file Subaward Subaward budget, justification, scope of work, and commitment form must be on file internally Contingency /Misc. Unallowable F&A NICRA rates should be used on a competitive proposal in response to a RFP; all MDHHS master agreement projects should use 26% MTDC unless an IDC waiver is obtained; 0% is typically used for fee for service; consult with Proposal Team 1 and/or your MDHHS Program Manager to determine the appropriate F&A rate. Cost Share Only include cost share if required by the solicitation. Compliance Conflict of Interest Annual and project-based disclosures are required for any key person on a project that includes pass-through funds from a federal or other sponsor that enforces the PHS or NSF COI regulations. MSU employees can complete their disclosures in KR. The prime sponsor is not always clear on projects funded under the Master Agreement, so we highly recommend all key persons complete their COI’s at the time the PD routes to avoid delay of award execution and account set up. IACUC/IRB IACUC or IRB approval is required prior to beginning work for any projects that include animals or human subjects, respectively. Export Control An ECORRW worksheet is typically not required for SOM projects, but may be required if the project meets the circumstances listed on our Export Controls Procedures page. Please work with your contract team if an ECORRW is needed. Award Guidance None of the State agencies use the same agreement to fund their projects. MDHHS funds projects under a master agreement with multiple amendments throughout the year to increase project funding or add new funding for additional projects. MDNR generally issues grants or contracts for individual projects, however, they may issue a master agreement depending on the project. MDNR language has been negotiated over time and is mutually-acceptable. Most MDOT contracts contain a publication restriction and those projects must be conducted in the URO. The agreements for other State agencies vary depending on the agency and whether it is a grant or a contract. Subawards Required Documents In order to begin review of the subaward, the following documents are required: detailed budget, budget justification, Statement (or Scope) of Work, signed Subrecipient Commitment Form, and a current financial audit. If MSU is receiving Federal flowthru funding, all subrecipients must have a DUNS number prior to issuance of the subaward. Drafting Subawards Subawards under State of Michigan funding are drafted by the OSP Contract Teams. Prior Approvals Due to the considerable variation of State of Michigan agreements, please consult your specific award for prior approvals. If you need assistance or clarification, please contact CGA Awards Group at Awards@cga.msu.edu. MDHHS Master Agreement Projects Any deviations modifying an established budget category by $10,000 or 15%, whichever is greater, including any adjustment to the total amount of an agreement, must be made in writing and executed by all parties to the agreement before modifications can be implemented. New categories to the approved budget require prior approval. Reporting Due to considerable variation between State of Michigan agreements, please consult your specific agreement for reporting requirements. If you need assistance or clarification, please contact CGA’s Reports Group at reports@cga.msu.edu. MDHHS Master Agreement Projects Financial Requirements Submission of financial reports are completed monthly in the online submission system, “EGrAMS.” Final financial reports are due within 60 days of the project end date. Technical Requirements Please refer to your specific attachment to the Master Agreement. The attachment should indicate the frequency of reports due. Please note that the Department is responsible for the preparation and submission of the work plans/progress reports. Effort Reporting / Cost Share Effort Reporting MSU effort reporting overview and FAQ’s can be found on the Sponsored Program Administration website at the following link: spa.msu.edu/PL/Effort/EffortReportingTools.aspx Effort reporting instructions can also be located on the Sponsored Program Administration website: spa.msu.edu/PL/Portal/231/EffortReportingInstructionsEffortAdministrators For additional questions and information, please contact the CGA Effort Reporting inbox at effortreporting@cga.msu.edu Cost Share Information on cost share can be found on the Sponsored Programs Administration website at the following link: spa.msu.edu/PL/Portal/249/CostSharePolicy In cases where salaried cost share has been committed, MSU uses the effort reporting system for tracking and documentation. Non-salary cost share is documented through PI certified operating statements. Record Retention Most State of Michigan agreements have a record retention of 3 years from submission of the final expenditure report. Please consult your specific agreement as this may vary. If not specified, see the following: cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/403/RecordRetention. Sponsor Resources Links to sponsor resources State of Michigan Executive Departments MDHHS Website SOM Funding Opportunities eGrAMS Proposal Submission Bid4Michigan Forms and Templates None at this time Archives None at this time
