Indirect Costs

What are indirect costs or F&A (Facilities & Administrative) costs?
F&A costs (aka “indirects”) are intended to cover costs related to the support of a project which are necessary, but difficult to quantify in a meaningful way. This includes things like utilities for the building in which the project is being performed, administrative and facilities staff, common books which can be typically found in a library, and routine office supplies (such as printers, paper, notebooks, and postage). The University has a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement established by the Department of Health and Human Services. However, if extensive amounts of any of these items are going to be needed directly for the project, they can be specifically requested with sufficient justification.

How do indirect costs work?
UGA charges indirect costs to all federal and state grants and most grants from for-profit and nonprofit entities unless specifically prohibited by sponsor policy. These costs are referred to as “F&A” (Facilities & Administrative) costs. The University of Georgia Research Foundation has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). These rates should always be used unless specified otherwise in the Program Announcement or Request for Proposal issued by a sponsor.

When the UGA Research Foundation receives a grant, 80% of the F&A is kept by the university’s administration, the remaining 20% is divided as specified in the Grants Portal transmittal. Policies set by the faculty’s home department and colleges are followed for the disbursement of indirect costs. If home department policy allows for a portion of return to the investigator and the home department policy allows it, as a service OIBR will manage this portion of the return along with the grant under the faculty member’s OIBR department ID. Typically, but not always, indirect costs are divided in the Grants Portal consistent with the allotment of academic credit.

Does OIBR take any percentage of academic credit or indirect cost return?
No. OIBR is an endowed service unit funded by support from the Office of Research. OIBR adheres to policies set by academic departments and colleges on all indirect cost return to PI.