Reform in K6 Teaching and Education
Introduction
The PI has determined that this is a major project, as defined by OMB Circular A-21, and meets A-21
requirements for direct charging of administrative expenses. All effort and expenses charged to this project
will be for services specific to the project, and not for the general support of the academic activities of the
faculty or Department.
This major research project will involve the accumulation and distribution of large quantities of realtime
data from Stanford University to Texas A&M and other collaborating institutions. The Principal
Investigator will require administrative support to insure meeting the goals of this project. Information
sharing and discussion will occur through the use of conference calls, which will be coordinated by
Stanford University staff.
All personnel effort and expenses charged to this project will be for services specific to the project and
not for the general support of the faculty or the academic activities of any University Department. In
addition, all effort charged to this project can be specifically identified through an effort reporting
system that is reflected on a personnel action form or via the lab timecard system.
The indirect cost and fringe benefits included in the budget are those most recently negotiated with the
Office of Naval Research and are the rates appropriate to use for the time frame proposed.
Stanford University’s current negotiated indirect cost rate for a research project of this nature is XX%
This rate will be charged to the modified total direct cost base, which excludes the salaries of
undergraduate students, subcontracts in excess of $25,000, tuition, and equipment costing more than
$5,000 with a useful life in excess of one year.
Stanford University equipment capitalization threshold is $5,000. Thus for purposes of this proposal,
items costing $5,000 and have a useful life of one year or more will be considered capital equipment.
A 3% cost of living increase was assumed for all salaries according to guidelines approved by Stanford
University and was also applied to other categories where noted.
Personnel
Professor I.D. Nutt 10% AY and 33% (one month) summer salary. The Principal Investigator will be
responsible for all aspects of the project. She will insure that research goals are met in a timely manner,
with scientific integrity, and completed within budgeted amounts. She will insure that project activities
and expenditures are in compliance with Stanford University and National Science Foundation policy.
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Irving Inspire, Ph.D. This Stanford University Statistics Department professor will collaborate with Dr.
Nutt on the synthesis component of the research. He has requested no salary for his effort, and will be
available to the project on an asneeded basis.
To Be Named, Project Assistant, 25% FTE. This position will provide necessary services to this project
and particularly the Principal Investigator, as this project’s logistics involve multiple sites, and a
substantial volume of data entry, analysis and dissemination. This employee will be responsible for
distributing data to all collaborating sites, coordinating conference calls, and will focus on assisting the
Principal Investigator with the management of the budget. The effort for this position can specifically
identified through effort reporting that is reflected on the lab timecard system. This effort will be
confined to the needs of this research project and will not include any support for the general academic
activities of the faculty or the department.
To Be Named, Graduate Student, 50% FTE. Under the supervision of the Principal Investigator, the
Graduate Assistant will work on experiments related to verification and synthesis, and will provide
assistance with other aspects of the research, including data entry and analysis. We will recruit the
candidate from the School of Education pool of Ph.D. candidates with expertise in this area.
The fringe benefit rate associated with the Principal Investigator and other regular staff will be XX%.
The graduate student salary will receive a XX% benefit rate, in accordance with Stanford University
policy.
Vacation Accrual / Disability Sick Leave (DSL) Rates
Per our negotiated rate agreement with the Office of Naval Research, the budgeted salary
amount for staff includes XX% vacation accrual/disability sick leave (DSL) for exempt
employees and XX% for nonexempt employees. This amount does not exceed total salary. The
vacation accrual/DSL rates will be charged at the time of the salary expenditure. No salary will
be charged to the award when the employee is on vacation, disability or worker’s compensation.
Capital Equipment
A Toshiba XVC288 Data Camera (or equivalent) will be purchased for use on this project. Due to the
high volume of data that will be collected and analyzed, this expense is necessary. Stanford University
currently does not have a system on campus that can be utilized for this project. We have included a
quotation from our vendor. Sales tax is included in the purchase price.
Travel, Domestic
It is anticipated that the PI will need to travel to Washington on an annual basis to consult with the
program officer at the National Science Foundation. We have included expenses for airfare at $1000 and
per diem at the rate of $150/day x 7 days and car rental. This category has been inflated at a rate of 3%
annually.
Other Direct Costs
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Materials and Supplies
Computer supplies will include the items necessary to maintain the existing microcomputer environment
of this project, as well as those supplies needed to maintain the Sun Microsystem.
Publication costs have been estimated at $1000 per year.
Software will be required for the Data Camera, as well as updates for other systems that will be used by
this project.
Consultant Services
Dr. Smart Guy, a specialist in the area of Education Reform will provide 10 days of consulting to the
project at $482/day (NSF maximum allowable rate). He is employed with Hybridata but will be
available for the work on this project as described. See attached letter of commitment.
Subaward
Texas A&M will receive a subcontract in the amount of $45,000 for each of the three project years. A
detailed budget and justification are attached, and a description of their responsibilities is included in the
workstatement.
Other
Tuition: Research Assistants at Stanford University earn 62% of full tuition for a 50% research
assistantship. Stanford policy dictates that 40% of this expense will be charged to the sponsored project,
with the remaining 22% provided by the University. Included in this budget are tuition expenses for one
assistant at 50% for 4 quarters.
An ISDN line will be necessary for the large volume of data that will be transmitted to the subcontract
site. Existing telephone lines cannot accommodate the needs of this project. The budgeted amount
includes installation charges and monthly expenses.
Expenses for long distance will include calls to the program officer in Washington, the subcontractor in
Texas, and coordinating conference calls. Based on previous experience with a project of this size and
nature, we anticipate that $100/month should be adequate to cover this expense. We are not requesting
any funds for general telephone operating expenses or equipment. The long distance expenses can be
tracked through project specific access codes.
Other sample justifications for Administrative positions:
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Administrative Associate, (100% FTE) Ms. XXXX will provide necessary Administrative support
services to this project’s staff, particularly the Principal Investigator, as this project’s logistics involve
multiple sites, a substantial volume of meeting coordination, travel arrangements, data entry analysis and
dissemination. This associate will be responsible for distributing data to all collaborating sites,
coordinating conference calls, setting up meetings, making travel arrangements and assisting with patient
coordination. The effort needed for this position exceeds that which can be provided by the department
for support of this project, and a fulltime assistant dedicated exclusively to this project is required for
effective implementation of this program. Ms. XXXXX’s activities will be confined to the needs of this
research project and will not include support for the general academic activities of the faculty or the
department, and can be specifically identified through effort reporting that is reflected on her personnel
action form.
XXXXXX, Financial Administrator (50% FTE) is the financial coordinator to the ACTG grant. Under
the direction of the Principal Investigator, she is responsible for managing the budget, serves as the
contact person for the subunits regarding their budgetary concerns and invoicing, and acts as a liaison to
the Stanford University and Stanford Hospital financial departments. The effort needed for this position
exceeds that which can be provided by the department for support of this project, and a halftime assistant
dedicated to this project is required for effective implementation of this program. Ms. XXXX’s effort can
be specifically identified through effort reporting that is reflected on her personnel action form.