Overview

Effort Reporting on Sponsored Awards: 101

Effort reporting is the federally-mandated process by which the salary charged to a sponsored project is documented as being reasonable in relation to the effort expended on that project. During the course of the year, the university charges salaries to sponsored projects and other accounts based on allocation instructions (i.e., the percentage of salary to be charged to one or more sponsored projects or other accounts based on committed effort) provided by academic department personnel acting upon instructions from Principal Investigators and others who oversee those sponsored projects. 

Federal regulations and university policy require that throughout the course of the year, these charges be monitored to ensure that any significant change in effort or workload results in a change of the salary distribution.

Certification is required annually in the fall for the previous academic year. There is a 10-day period of time during which the certification process may be done. You will be notified by e-mail when the certification period begins and the date by which the certification must be completed.

All faculty and full time benefited staff members who receive any portion of their salary from a federal sponsored project or otherwise provide effort on a federal sponsored project must self-certify their effort. In addition, a Principal Investigator may be required to certify the effort of other staff who devote effort to his/her sponsored project.

University guidelines require faculty and full time benefited staff to certify for themselves and in some cases, project staff. In addition, federal regulations require a certification that the salary charged is reasonable in relation to the effort expended. The university has determined that best practices dictate that faculty self-certify their federal sponsored effort. In addition, a Principal Investigator may be required to certify the effort of others charged to his/her federal sponsored projects.

If you have concerns about your grant application, contact your Sr. Financial Research Administrator in the Office of Research Administration.