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 & 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.