Budgeting Basics for Sponsored Project Proposals

Budget Template

Budget Justification Templates

Institutional Rates

Effort

Effort on a proposal signifies the time commitment a person is pledging to the project. Based on sponsor guidelines, these commitments can be expressed either in terms of a percentage (%) of your work time or in months.

Effort is calculated by appointment type (calendar, academic and summer).

The following examples show how to convert effort between percentage and months.

Converting Months to Effort Percentage:

  • Calendar Year Effort (12-month appointments) 
    • Divide number of Months by 12 = % Calendar Year Effort
    • Example: 2 calendar months / 12 months = 16.67%
  • Academic Year Effort (9-month appointments)
    • Divide number of Months by 9 = % Academic Year Effort
    • Example: 2 academic months / 9 months = 22.22%
  • Summer Term Effort (3-Month Term)
    • Divide number of Months by 3 = % Summer Term Effort
    • Example: 2 summer months / 3 months = 66.67%

Converting Effort Percentage to Months:

  • Calendar Year Effort (12-month appointments) 
    • Multiply Effort Percentage by 12 = Calendar Month Effort
    • Example: 16.67%*12 months = 2 calendar months
  • Academic Year Effort (9-month appointments)
    • Multiply Effort Percentage by 9 = Academic Month Effort
    • Example: 22.22%*9 months = 2 academic months
  • Summer Term Effort (3-Month Term)
    • Multiply Effort Percentage by 3 = Summer Month Effort
    • Example: 66.67%*3 months = 2 summer months

Reminder: Effort for all key personnel, in particular faculty, must be budgeted minimally at 1%. This correlates to 0.12 calendar months or 0.03 summer months. As noted, effort should typically be substantially more than 1% since it should reflect the actual effort needs of the project.