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U-M
Medical School Policy on Applying for Indirect Cost Waivers
Revised
Policy Effective March 1, 2002
A waiver of
indirect costs is a rare and unusual circumstance. The following
policy articulates under what circumstances a waiver might be considered
by the Medical School. All requests for indirect cost waivers are
reviewed by the Medical School Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
This policy replaces the previous policy dated June 1990.
The request
for a waiver of any portion of eligible indirect cost recoveries
must be approved in advance by the investigator(s) department chair(s)
prior to circulation of the final proposal for internal review and
processing.
Current federal
and non-federal indirect cost rates can be reviewed on the web
· Phase I SBIR and STTR grants have a 0% indirect cost rate
and do not require a waiver request.
· Nonprofit sponsors with established, published rates do
not require a waiver request.
The following
information must be included in the waiver request, which is made
by completing the, Cost
Waiver Form.
(a) Amount
of the waiver and the reason for the request.
(b) Significance of the proposed research and support.
(c) Consequences of accepting or denying the waiver.
The Office
of Research and Graduate Studies considers granting indirect costs
waivers when:
1. The total funding available from the sponsor is relatively small
or a predetermined, fixed amount, and the full recovery of indirect
costs from the dollars available would make implementation of the
project very difficult.
2. The funding is seed money for a project which, if successfully
carried out, subsequently may be funded to a much greater extent,
including full indirect costs. Identifying the appropriate indirect
cost rate in the seed money project and cost-sharing a portion of
the indirect costs should avoid any misunderstanding with the sponsor
when the budget for the follow-up project is presented with the
full indirect cost rate.
3. The department is going to undertake the proposed research regardless
of the funding from any particular sponsor and therefore, the availability
of external funds to support this effort can be viewed as a partial
offset to Medical School commitments.
The factors
considered by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies in determining
if an indirect cost waiver is appropriate for a particular proposal
include:
1. The significance of the research to the principal investigator,
department chairperson, and dean.
2. The willingness of the responsible unit to forego its portion
of the indirect costs.
3. Total proposed budget, amount of the requested waiver, and the
precedent that will be established for the university unit, type
of research, and/or sponsor category.
4. Availability of support from other sources.
5. History and anticipated future support from the sponsor.
6. Nature of the support (e.g., student stipends, interim support
between other projects, support which complements other projects).
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