Proposal Development

How to Develop Your Proposal

Not sure how to start? We can help!

Budget Development Resources

An efficient and well-reasoned budget can increase your chances of award because it shows your ability to manage finances and allocate resources. The budget justification can also tie back to the goals and objectives of your grant proposal, showing how costs are reasonable, allowable, allocable and necessary. Primary components of budgets can include:

• Salary and Fringe Benefit Costs: work with us to get the most up-to-date salary information and to determine what cost of living increases should be used in multi-year budgets. Fringe benefit costs include the cost of items such as the employer’s contribution to health insurance, Medicare, unemployment and life insurance. Whenever salary is budgeted, fringe benefits must also be included. We will work with you to determine the correct rates and calculations.
• Travel Cost Estimates: travel costs can include airfare, mileage, parking, ground transportation, lodging, meals, incidentals and other items. Travel must be estimated using current Universities of Wisconsin travel policies and procedures. 
• IT Purchasing Costs: computer hardware, software and other allowable IT-related costs included in project budgets must be estimated using current UW- Green Bay IT Purchasing prices.
• Course Release: course releases included in a project budget must be approved by your department chair and/or dean. Course releases are calculated on an individual basis using standard institutional rates. OGR will assist with cost calculations.
• Effort Calculation (pdf): when including a salary request or in-kind effort contributions in your project budget, effort must be calculated using your base salary. OGR can assist with these calculations.
• New Researcher/Position Salary: if your project budget includes the hire of a new position, including a researcher or scientist, connect with UW-Green Bay Human Resources to determine correct titling and associated salary.
• Graduate Assistant Salary (docx): if your project budget includes graduate student assistant salary, connect with the Office of Graduate Studies to determine appropriate costs.
• Subaward Guidance: a subaward is a contractual agreement between the primary award recipient (lead) and a secondary institution. If your project budget includes a subaward, please email ogr@uwgb.edu for further guidance as early as possible. There are many steps that need to be followed when working with outside collaborators and OGR will help you navigate them.
• Indirect Costs: actual costs incurred by UW-Green Bay in support of extramurally funded activities which cannot be charged to a specific grant or contract. Examples include pre- and post-award services, and utilities.