CREATING A REALISTIC BUDGET

AND BUDGET JUSTIFICATION

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Amanda Bradford-Janke

Research Support SpecialistSchool of Nursing Research Support Services

CREATING A REASONABLE BUDGET

Main goal: To submit a realistic, well-justified budget that

accurately reflects the cost of carrying out your research program

WHERE DO YOU START?

Think of the phases or stages of your project

List all tasks that are associated with each phase/stage

List all tasks that will need to be done on short term and an ongoing basis

Phase 1 – Project start up Research Ethics Board application/approval Hiring of project personnel Development and distribution of recruitment

materials Finalization of data collection tools if not already

done prior to officially starting study Setting up databases for study

This is usually a labour intensive phase for staff

Phase 2 – Recruitment Regular contact with recruitment sites Tracking and following participants as they enter

the study

Phase 3 – Data collection, cleaning and analysis Conducting initial interviews/questionnaires Conducting follow up interviews/questionnaires (if

applicable)

Entering data Cleaning data Preliminary analysis

Phase 4 – Final Analysis, write-up, dissemination Conducting final analysis Writing final report to granting agency Writing manuscripts and abstracts for

dissemination Creation of conference materials Putting a project to bed

TYPICAL BUDGET LINES - STAFF Research Staff

Assistant or Coordinator Technicians Post Doctoral

Trainees Summer undergraduate students Graduate

Master’s PhD

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT YOUR STAFFING NEEDS ARE?

Determine what skills are required to complete each of the tasks or groups of tasks

Calculate how much time it will take to complete each phase/stage of your project

This will give you a sense of the type of staff you will need to complete your project on time

Consult with Human Resources as needed

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT SUPPLIES, SERVICES AND

MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED?

Try to think of all the phases/stages of your project and what you will physically need to complete them

Consider your total sample size, the number of staff you have and your recruitment methods

Keep in mind any funding agency restrictions on purchasing of material, services or supplies

WHAT KIND OF EQUIPMENT EXPENSES COULD YOU HAVE?

Do you need: A computer and/or printer Audio equipment Video equipment

Do you have to pay a fee to use a specific data collection tool? Is this a per use fee? Is this a one time fee?

TYPICAL BUDGET LINES – MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, SERVICES

Office Supplies Printing/photocopying Telephone services

monthly long distance

Conference calls Audio supplies – qualitative studies Video supplies Transcription services - qualitative studies Honorariums Computer software

WHERE WILL YOU BE TRAVELING? Team meetings:

Will you be traveling for team meetings? Will other team members be traveling to you?

OR Will you be having conference calls?

Data collection: Does your staff have to travel to recruit or collect

data?

Staff training: Does your staff have to travel to get special

training for tools or programs needed for the study?

WHAT TO THINK ABOUT FOR DISSEMINATION EXPENSES?

Conferences: Will you be going to local, national or international

conferences? How long is the conference?

Are you staying for the whole duration? What are the conference fees? How much will it cost to get there (plane or car)? How much will it cost for your hotel and meals? Are your doing a talk or poster?

How much does it cost to get a poster printed?

PUBLICATION COSTS

Manuscripts: Will you be publishing in an open access journal?

What is the fee for this?

Will you have colour pictures or graphs? Is there an extra fee for this?

NOW THAT I KNOW WHAT I NEED HOW TO I CREATE MY BUDGET?

There are a few different ways to present a budget

How do you usually create a budget?

Word vs Excel

BUDGETS CREATED IN MICROSOFT WORD

Advantages: For those who aren’t familiar or comfortable with

spreadsheets Simple text format for presenting budget items

and associated costs Can be pasted directly into most application

forms

Disadvantages: All calculation have to be done by hand Budget will need to be put into spreadsheet later

for tracking and projections if study funded Formatting can be difficult Can’t easily compare multiyear costs

MICROSOFT WORD EXAMPLE

Year 1MATERIALS, SUPPLIES AND SERVICES $24,936

Expendables Office supplies $ 300Printing/photocopying $ 500

Services Consultant fees

4-day Modified Interaction Guidance training workshop $12,000 Supervised practice sessions $9,000

MINI training $1,400Transcription

2 focus group interviews with PHNs $176@ 4 hr/interview = 8 hrs @ $22/hr

Food and refreshments4-day training workshop @ $250/day $1,000Focus groups (2 groups x $40) $80

Participant CostsHonorarium for 16 families ($30 gift certificates) $480

BUDGETS CREATED IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Advantages:

Can be entered to auto calculate individual expenses, subcategories and total expenses

Budget database already set-up if funded and will save staff time

Can easily compare budget items across years

Disadvantages: More work at the beginning but will save time

if you need to ‘play’ with budget Have to have good knowledge of Excel to set-

up budget lines with auto calculations

Materials, Supplies and ServicesExpendables $800.00 $1,400.00

Office supplies $300.00 $300.00

Printing/photocopying $500.00 Including printing of interview transcripts, journal articles and final project report $800.00

Desemination materialsIncluding one page lay summary, 3 page short scholarly summary

$300.00

Services $23,656.00 $40.00

Consultation Fees4-day Modified Interaction Guidance training

workshop $12,000.00 N/A $0.00

Supervised practice sessions $9,000.00 N/A $0.00

MINI Training $1,400.00 N/A $0.00

Transcription

2 focus groups 4 hrs/focus group = 8hrs x $22/hr $176.00 N/A $0.00

Food and refreshments

4-day training workshops $250/day $1,000.00 N/A $0.00

Focus groups 2 groups x $40/day $80.00 1 group x $40 $40.00

Participant Costs $480.00 $640.00

Honorarium $30 gift certificate x 16 training families $480.00 $30 gift certificate x 16 training families $480.00

In-depth interview honorarium N/A $0.00 $10 gift certificate x 16 intervention families $160.00

Year One Total $24,936.00 Year Two Total $2,080.00

Total Budget $27,016.00

YEAR 1 YEAR 2

$24,936 $2,080

WHAT IS A BUDGET JUSTIFICATION?

Justifications are used to link budget items to your research requirements

For example: You may feel it is evident why you need 3 RA’s

but it may not be evident to the reviewers Explain why you have to travel during high

season Demonstrate why equipment is really needed

HOW DO YOU CREATE A BUDGET JUSTIFICATION?

Go through the budget line by line and provide a brief rationale for each item you are requesting funding for

Your justification should be in the same order as you presented your budget

Include tasks for staff to justify full-time or part-time needs (especially if non-students)

Be specific if you have quotes from retailers or supplies be sure to say so

BUDGET JUSTIFICATION EXAMPLEMaterials, Supplies and ServicesGeneral Office Supplies & Printing and Photocopying:Year 1- $800

General office supplies will be needed by RA to run the day to day operation of the study. Photocopying and printing costs are required to produce training materials; manuals; protocols; recruitment materials; workshop materials; consent forms.

Year 2 - $1,200General office supplies will be needed by RA to run the day to day operation of the study. Photocopying and printing costs are required to produce training materials; manuals; protocols; recruitment materials; workshop materials and consent forms. In addition in year 2 in-service materials; conference materials; ministry meeting materials; grant report; and publication materials will also need to be published.

Consultation Fees:Year 1- $21,000

Dr. X will be paid for her time to facilitate the 4-day workshop for PHNs and for her time to conduct supervised practice session with the PHNs. The first 3 days of the workshop will train PHN on how to conduct the MIG intervention session. The last day of the workshop will train the PHNs how to administer the AMBIANCE and WMCI.

BUDGET JUSTIFICATION EXAMPLETranscription Fees:Year 1 -$176

A professional will be paid to transcribe 2 PHN end of year focus group (2 hours of data x 4 hours transcription x $22/hr =$176)

Food & Refreshments:Year 1 -$1,080

Lunch, coffee/tea & snacks will be catered for 6 PHNs, 1 manager and 1 facilitator for the 4-day MIG training workshop. Coffee/tea & snacks will be served for the PHN focus group2 (6 PHNs + 1 facilitator).

Year 2 - $40Coffee/tea & snacks will be served for the PHN focus group (6 PHNs + 1 facilitator).

Participant Costs:Year 1 -$480

Participants will be given a $30 gift certificate for participating in the training phase of the study (16 families total).

Year 2 - $640Participants will be given a $30 gift certificate for participating in the intervention phase of the study (16 families total). An additional $10 gift certificate will be given to the families that participate in the in-depth qualitative interviews.

BUDGET TIPS - STAFF Make sure you use the correct fringe benefits

rates for staff

Include raises for Roll 1 staff if it is a multiyear study (including salary and benefits)

Quote the maximum salary level

If employing trainees make sure to quote the current stipend and include increases if a multiyear study

Be sure to include current vacation pay % for part-time/temporary staff

BUDGET TIPS - EQUIPMENT Demonstrate through your justification that

equipment is really needed

Demonstrate how the equipment meets the short and long term research needs

Indicate if there are no equipment alternatives in your department or through collaboration

Request these items in your first year of a multiyear budget

Append quotes from vendors for equipment and maintenance

BUDGET TIPS - DISSEMINATION Include a budget line for manuscript preparation and

look into the costs of publishing in appropriate journals

Explain why you have to travel during high season if applicable

Cost out airfare, hotels and ground transportation – get quotes from vendors

Use McMaster Travel policy for meal per diems and $/km amounts

Make sure you include current conference fees

Include costs for printing posters or conference talk materials

Make sure to state who will be traveling and the purpose of the travel

OVERALL BUDGET TIPS Don’t grossly underestimate or inflate your budget these

are reds flags for reviewers

Don’t use estimates when you can base a budget item on a past expenditure or a cost quote from a vendor

Be sure to include taxes, any shipping/handling fees or exchange rates for budget items

State if any supplies, services or staff time will be given IN KIND

A detailed and carefully costed budget makes it more difficult for committee members to recommend a global cut

Make sure you follow the agencies budget rules!!!!!

HOW CAN RESEARCH SUPPORT SERVICES HELP YOU?

RSS can help by costing the following: Supplies Services Equipment/Maintenance Travel Personnel

RSS can also assist with: Setting up budget in Word or Excel Inputting budget items into spreadsheet Drafting budget justification

RESEARCH OFFICE CONTACT INFORMATION Research Support Specialists

Amanda Bradford-Jankeext.26899bradfor@mcmaster.ca

Jennifer McGuganext. 23220mcgugj@mcmaster.ca

Sandy Brooksext. 20215sbrooks@mcmaster.ca