Third party in-kind contributions may be in the form of services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the project or program, equipment or other property, supplies, etc. If the sponsor does not pay any salary and wage expenses on the project, it is reasonable to assume that there is some Principal Investigator effort or effort of other employees that is cost-shared. However it originates, cost-sharing represents a University commitment to provide resources to a sponsored project. In these cases, special attention must be paid to policy compliance by all concerned entities. Generally, cost-sharing should be in the form of salary and associated fringe benefits.
Cost overruns are a form of cost-sharing.
In order to fulfill the University's responsibility to sponsors, sponsored projects include some Principal Investigator or other personnel effort that is directly charged to or explicitly cost-shared with the agency. This effort must be quantified in the proposal. Cost-shared expenditures must be identified with the same functional classification as the sponsored award. The specific type of documentation required is based on the nature of the award, the type of cost that is cost-shared, the terms of the sponsored agreement, and other circumstances of the award. For further information, contact Sponsored Programs Accounting.