Proposal and Budget Note Boilerplates
Pre-Proposals
All pre-proposals leaving the University should be clearly marked as such, and should include a statement such as:
"This pre-proposal does not obligate the University of North Dakota to this project. Upon request of the sponsor, a formal and properly authorized proposal will be submitted."
Budget
Sponsors often require a detailed budget for the evaluation of a proposal. This level of detail implies that the University can track expenditures in greater detail than can be provided by our administrative accounting system. To avoid misunderstandings and to maintain consistency from proposal to award, the following note should be placed at the bottom of the Budget Page of any proposal submitted to an external sponsor:
The budget detail is being submitted for proposal evaluation purposes only. Due to limitations within the university's accounting system, the system does not provide for accumulating and reporting expenses at the level of detail submitted. A budget summary is also presented in a format consistent with how costs will be accounted for and reported.
Fringe Benefits
The following paragraph should be placed in Budget Notes, Budget Justification, or as a note at the bottom of the Budget Page:
Amounts shown for fringe benefits are estimates determined by historical data and are provided for proposal evaluation purposes only. Actual fringe benefit costs will be charged to the grant according to each employee's actual benefits.
Overload Situation
Salary funds requested to pay for work performed in an overload situation are not allowed.
Graduate Student Tuition
Amounts shown for graduate tuition costs are estimates for a full-time non-resident student, for one full year. The actual tuition costs will be charged to the grant according to the student's resident status and number of credits taken per semester.
Indirect Costs
The following explanation should be placed in Budget Notes or Justification, unless directions in the proposal guidelines require it elsewhere:
The indirect cost rate included in this proposal is the federally approved rate for the University of North Dakota. Indirect costs are calculated based on the Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC), defined as the Total Direct Costs of the project less individual items of equipment $5,000 or greater and subcontracts in excess of the first $25,000 for each award.
Office Supplies
Federal guidelines require that office supplies to be paid for by the grant must be specific to the project and adequately described; otherwise, purchases for office supplies may be disallowed by the agency's fiscal manager. To avoid limitations on the purchases of office supplies, the following paragraph may be placed in Budget Notes or Justification (additional specific items should be included if in doubt):
Office supplies include items specifically related to the proposed project and may be such items as pens, pencils, paper clips, printer paper and toner cartridges, notebooks (if needed), Post-It notes, computer diskettes, transparencies or other presentation materials, duplicating materials or charges, and other miscellaneous items required to complete the project.
Communication Costs
Federal grant proposals require that any communication costs included as direct charges to the grant be specifically mentioned in the budget. Coverage of the use of a cell phone must specifically be mentioned. The following paragraph would be appropriate in Budget Notes or Justification:
Direct charges for communications costs include telephone and fax line charges, cell phone charges (if appropriate), postage for regular, air, and express mail, and other data or document transmission costs.
UND
The University was founded in 1883, six years before North Dakota statehood, with a charter calling for the establishment of a liberal arts and letters college and a normal school for the training of teachers. The University was also charged with providing education in the professional fields, and the School of Law was added in 1889, Engineering and Mines in 1901, and Medicine in 1905.