Criteria For Cost Share Or Institutional Support Approvals

Cost Share: 2 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 200, often referred to as the Uniform Requirements, dictates that unless cost share is mandatory, it may not be used as criteria by a federal agency for proposal review. In an effort to provide fair and equitable support to all units, the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research will therefore typically provide cost share only:

• When it is mandated by the sponsor as a required element of a proposal and
• When the initiative is a demonstrated priority of the schools and colleges

In some instances, federal agencies publish requests for proposals that do not require cost sharing but allow it voluntarily. When voluntary cost share is listed as a component of the sponsor’s review criteria, colleges and schools may choose to commit their funds to cost share, if the terms are compliant with the Uniform Requirements and approved by OSP.

Institutional Support: In an effort to provide fair and equitable support to all units, the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research will typically provide institutional support only:

• When the initiative is a demonstrated priority of the schools and colleges or
• When a PI qualifies for New Investigator Support.

Who Should a PI Approach About Cost Share?
How Does a PI Request Institutional Support?

• For PIs who are brand new to cost share discussions, we recommend a general conversation with your college’s Associate Dean for Research (ADR) early in the proposal process.
• For PIs who are leading large, collaborative proposals, please refer to Institutional Support Guidance for PIs Leading Major Center Efforts.
• For specific projects, the PI initiates the request in conversation with the unit chair or the chair’s delegate.
• If multiple units are involved, the PI and co-PIs engage all relevant chairs.
• The chair brings the request to the dean or the dean’s delegate (often the ADR).
• If multiple colleges are involved, the chairs engage all relevant deans.
• The dean brings the request to the EVPR’s office, if appropriate.

New Investigator Support

Junior faculty who receive a federal new investigator award such as NSF CAREER, ONR Young Investigator Award, or DARPA YFA may request up to $20,000 from Georgia Tech in support of their research. This support falls into the category of an Institutional Commitment, is not for the specific benefit of the award funded project(s) and is therefore not documented for the sponsor as cost share. As required, or otherwise appropriate, it should be documented as other support or resources, but should not be quantified in the proposal.

These funds can be used to support project costs in any budget category, but must be spent during the period of performance of the new investigator award.

New investigator support must be requested as Institutional Commitment in GT-TRACS at the time of proposal submission. Requests will be approved pending receipt of the new investigator award. As this program is a special recognition program for Georgia Tech faculty achieving this important career milestone, faculty who receive a new investigator award elsewhere and transfer it in to Georgia Tech are not eligible to receive this support for the transferred award.

Please note, $20,000 is the maximum for an individual investigator; Georgia Tech provides this support only once, regardless of the number of such awards received.