Your research budget is a central and important part of your proposal. You need to develop a budget that is comprehensive, realistic and in keeping with the granting agency's budget criteria and university and PHSA policies.
Support and training are available to help you gain the skills and knowledge to develop a sound budget.
The costs covered by the granting agency can vary across funders and funding announcements. Carefully read the granting agency's budget criteria or special instructions in their Request for Application (RFA) or Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Make sure not to exceed limits and/or spending caps on certain expenses, and overall funding limits.
Most funding agencies require a budget that estimates the total cost of the project (direct and indirect) with a breakdown of cost per year. Direct costs pay for project-specific expenses, such as salaries for researchers, equipment or materials. Indirect costs include overhead expenses that can't easily be billed to one project, such as institutional operating expenses, equipment shared among many researchers, or administrative research support.
As per
UBC Research Policy (LR2 previously #87 - PDF), all budgets for research grants and contracts must include a 25% overhead (or indirect) rate. Similar policies exist at other universities affiliated with PHSA.
If you're applying for external research funding (excluding Tri-Council – SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR), you must address your university's research overhead policy with your intended sponsor in advance of your proposal submission.
UBC's Vice-President Research & International maintains an Overhead Rates Table (requires
CWL login) of external agencies, government departments, foundations and charities with which UBC has negotiated special overhead rates for research. Organizations not listed on this table assume the 25% rate. Please check this table to see if your sponsor is listed prior to developing your project budget.
UBC Office of Research Services (ORS) and the UBC University-Industry Liaison Office (UILO) may allow flexibility in the standard 25% rate, if the sponsor publicly advertises a "no overhead" or alternate rate policy.
If you're in the process of applying for external research sponsorship, including approaching external partners (other than Canadian universities) for cash contributions to Tri-Council projects, please contact your university's Office of Research Services for advice on navigating the relevant overhead policy.
