11. Effort and
       Salaries

Tracking Committed Effort   

The commitment of effort made in proposals is the starting point for a significant amount of project cost. It also has significant implications for cost sharing. The following principles apply in this regard:

• Stanford salary is allocated on the basis of a distribution of TOTAL effort (FTE, or Full-Time Equivalent), including teaching, research activities, University citizenship, etc.
  
  
• No one has more than 100% FTE, and most Schools require that a specified % be reserved for non-sponsored activity.
  
  
• Effort committed in a proposal, awarded by the sponsor, and expended on the project must be matched with an equivalent salary charge EITHER directly to the sponsor, or to a cost-sharing account, or to some combination of these. These dollars then are included in Stanford's Organized Research base and become part of our indirect cost rate calculation.
  
  
• Stanford University (and sponsors) expect a commitment of PI effort for each research proposal. Except in specified cases, Stanford will not process research proposals without AT LEAST a 1% FTE commitment of the PI's effort (see memo for further clarification).

NOTE: In the School of Medicine, such commitments require a corresponding direct charge to the project. The School prohibits the cost sharing of faculty salaries (see School policy).

A commitment of effort is usually made in the proposal budget, but it may also be made in the narrative or in conversation with the sponsor. When effort is committed, awarded and expended, corresponding salary must be directly charged or cost-shared.

In January 2001, the Office of Management Budget issued a clarification of Circular A-21, confirming that voluntary uncommitted effort should NOT be accounted for separately and included in the organized research base for the calculation of indirect costs.

That clarification also reinforces the expectation that PIs WILL make a commitment of effort to their research projects. Based in part on this guidance from the Government, Stanford University has prepared a summary of policy on this important topic.