Changes to Sponsored Program Facilities and Administrative Costs Policy

The Office for Research is pleased to announce the implementation of a new Sponsored Programs Facilities and Administrative Costs Policy (section 90.1.1 in the Rutgers Policy Library). This Policy memorializes and strengthens our current practices relating to applying Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs to sponsored programs. The Policy ensures consistent application of F&A across the University, appropriate F&A charges to sponsored projects per Rutgers' federally negotiated rate agreement, and consistent sharing of F&A for collaborative programs within Rutgers. A major goal of this policy is to improve funds flow for projects across Chancellor-led Units (CLUs) and positively impact future F&A rate negotiations to allow the University to better support sponsored programs.

Key elements of the policy are:  

• Negotiated F&A rates are expected to be applied to all sponsored programs.
• F&A costs returns across Rutgers units will be distributed based on effort, activities, or direct costs (unless the units involved reach a different agreement).
• The federally negotiated F&A rate will apply to federal pass-through funds.
• One faculty member must be identified as the contact Principal Investigator (PI), even for multi-PI projects.

Lower F&A rates may be accepted under specific circumstances, such as when:

• The source of funding on a state award pass-through is not federal.
• The sponsor provides clear and publicly available guidance applied uniformly to all award recipients restricting F&A.
• The CLU of the PI approves an F&A waiver or reduction. 

The Policy can be viewed at the Rutgers University Policy Library. Please submit comments and questions to F&A_Policy_Feedback@research.rutgers.edu.