Principal Investigators
Responsible for representing cost sharing correctly in the budget and the scope of work for each sponsored program in accordance with Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) and university policies and for identifying UA Little Rock or third-party resources to be used to meet cost sharing commitments. PIs are responsible for obtaining written approval prior to proposing voluntary committed cost sharing from the Vice Provost for Research. Upon award, PIs are responsible for ensuring that cost sharing commitments are fulfilled.
Unit Administrators
Responsible for reviewing proposal narratives for cost sharing commitments, for minimizing cost sharing commitments, and for providing dean’s approval to ORSP. School officials are responsible for managing the effort reporting process for committed cost sharing and for ensuring that unallowable costs, such as salaries over regulatory caps, are not counted toward cost sharing commitments. (“Unit administrators” are administrators who work closely with PIs and other administrators to manage sponsored awards.)
Department/Dean’s Office
Responsible for minimizing cost sharing by ensuring that commitments are not made in proposals unless required by the sponsor. Departments should provide ORSP with details of the cost sharing accounts, should ensure that shared costs are incurred in the companion accounts provided by ORSP, and should ensure that the same resources are not offered as cost sharing on more than one project. Department officials should assist ORSP by providing appropriate reports, as necessary when cost sharing is met using a fund that is not a companion account. In cases of cost sharing involving indirect cost recovery, such as unrecovered indirect costs or indirect costs on cost-shared university resources, the department and ORSP must work together since the university will not allocate indirect costs to non-sponsored funds. Departments should also work with ORSP when costs normally considered indirect, such as rent or telephone costs, are calculated and considered as cost sharing. In the case of donated services used for cost sharing, the department is responsible for determining and documenting the value of those services for review by ORSP.
Vice Provost for Research
Review and approve/disapprove voluntary cost sharing commitments regarding academic and/or other auxiliary projects or programs prior to proposal submission to ORSP.
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
Review and approve/disapprove voluntary cost sharing commitments regarding construction or other facilities-related projects or programs prior to proposal submission to ORSP.
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP)
Responsible for reviewing proposals to minimize commitments of UA Little Rock resources and for reviewing the appropriateness of accounts from which cost sharing has been pledged. The pre-award office is responsible for ensuring that cost sharing commitments are approved by responsible officials in the schools. ORSP is responsible for initiating cost sharing reporting and obtaining documentation of costs incurred to meet cost sharing commitments.
