Responsible Use of Research Funds: Over-Expenditure Prevention
Posted on: Sep 8, 2021
This post contains important information for all CUE faculty members who currently hold internal or external research funds, and/or who are considering applying for research funding in the future.
Funds holders are responsible for:
- all expenses under their research awards;
- restitution and/or reimbursement of funds used for ineligible expenditures; and
- any over-expenditure under a research grant.
An internal review of research accounts has highlighted that when research grants accumulate expenses beyond awarded amounts, in most cases, it is due to excess salary payments for Research Assistants.
Regrettably, CUE Research is unable to carry these negative balances within its approved budget.
Preventing over-expenditures
To prevent over-expenditures, all funds holders should:
- Ensure they have sufficient funds in a research grant account to cover Research Assistant salaries plus benefits before requesting services from Research Assistants. Once a Research Assistant has provided services, funds holders are obligated to ensure payment is made, which may result in over-expenditures.
- Confirm that they have the correct salary rate after adding benefits to the salary rate listed in the Research Assistant contract request. In many cases, overspent funds are related to calculations of the salary rate that do not consider benefits. Should you have a question on this matter, please contact Human Resources.
- For expenses not related to Research Assistant salaries, consult CUE’s policies, or contact the Office of Research Services for questions about eligible expenses.
The Office of Research Services thanks you in advance for your understanding and compliance.
We appreciate your engagement with CUE Research and encourage all eligible members of the CUE community to participate in upcoming competitions for research funding.