Syllabics
This policy sets out the authority, responsibility and procedures for the recovery of all costs related to externally sponsored research projects at the First Nations University of Canada.
A 2013 study by the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) and the Canadian Association of University Research Administrators (CAURA) concluded that universities incur indirect costs[1] at a rate of 40-60% of the direct costs[2] of research.
FNUniv undertakes research and scholarship to expand human knowledge and to improve the quality of life of Indigenous people. The intent of this policy is to support research by providing some relief to the 40-60% of real costs by moving to a lesser but reasonable and competitive Indirect Cost Recovery Rate which is set by the FNUniv’s Board of Governors (25%).
The Indirect Cost Recovery Rate shall not apply to:
The indirect costs recovered pursuant to this policy will be distributed as follows:
If researchers from more than one Academic Program are involved in a research project, the Academic Program portion of the indirect costs recovered will be shared in proportion to the proposed allocation of work.
Faculties/Research Centres should normally allocate a portion of their percentage of the indirect costs recovered to the Principal Investigator or other researchers on the project.
The FNUniv Research Office, Academic Programs, and Research Centres will regularly report on the use of indirect costs recovered.
If a faculty member negotiates an agreement with an Indirect Cost Recovery Rate of less than 25% without the reduced rate having been approved by the Research Cost Recovery Review Committee, the FNUniv may withhold support and approval of any future research funding agreement with that faculty member named as Principal Investigator. Other administrative sanctions may be imposed, as appropriate. These sanctions could include the faculty member being required to personally reimburse FNUniv for the amount of the overhead shortfall and being subject to disciplinary action per the Collective Agreement.
Researchers must include the applicable indirect cost recovery rate in the project’s cost estimate on all externally-funded research activity. Wherever possible, this rate should be incorporated into each line item, not displayed separately.
For all funding applications and agreements, researchers must provide the proposal and budget to FNUniv’s Research Office for review. If all requirements of FNUniv and the sponsor are met, including the recovery of indirect costs, FNUniv’s Research Office will provide the institutional signature(s) required on the funding application or the finalized contract. In addition, FNUniv’s Research Office is responsible for the negotiation of terms of the agreement with the sponsor.
Once the project is approved for funding, FNUniv’s Research Office submits a request to the Department of Finance to create a new research account or to allocate the funds to an existing account. The request will include the applicable distribution of the indirect costs recovered.
Exceptions to the minimum indirect cost rate may be considered for unusually favourable terms. Considerations may include, but are not limited to, new research equipment owned by the FNUniv, overall support or high volume of research funding from sponsor, high level of student training, competitive pricing compared with other research institutions.
Any faculty member wanting an exception to the indirect cost recovery rate must complete an “Exceptions to Research Cost Recovery” form. The form must be signed by the Principal Investigator, with accompanying signatures by the Dean or Director, and submitted to the Research Office (researchoffice@firstnationsuniversity.ca). The FNUniv Research Office will arrange for the standing Research Cost Recovery Review Committee to review the waiver request and make recommendations to the Vice-President (Academic). The Vice-President (Academic) will make a decision based on information in the form and input from the standing committee. The standing committee will consist of the Associate Dean, Community, Research, and Graduate Programs, the Director of Finance, and the Vice-President (Administration and Finance).
[1] The costs of research that cannot be easily and accurately traced to a single project or activity because they are jointly incurred by numerous research projects and activities going on in an institution at the same time and therefore must be apportioned to each project according to its usage of the institution’s facilities and services (estimated to be 40-60% of Direct Costs). Examples include fire insurance on a building, utility bills and the use of central services. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/88-001-x/2011003/technote-notetech2-eng.htm
[2] The costs that are attributable to a specific research project, except where the funding sponsor specifically defines direct costs. Another term for direct costs is variable costs
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