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Cost Sharing

Cost sharing or matching is that portion of project costs not borne by the sponsor. Cost sharing may be direct or in-kind. Direct cost sharing involves actual dollars contributed by UMW to the project, such as in the case of purchasing a piece of equipment or an equipment service contract for the project. This is money that the University commits as a part of the overall project budget. In-kind cost sharing involves a determination of the “value” of services that the University agrees to contribute toward a project. If, for example, UMW agrees to charge a reduced rate for the rental of facilities to be used on an externally funded project, the difference in the standard rate and the rate charged to the grant would be considered an in-kind contribution.

Some funding agencies require cost sharing for grants, others do not. If the granting entity does not explicitly require cost sharing, including it may not necessarily help the proposal’s evaluation.

The policy of the University is to make a cost sharing commitment only under the following conditions:

  1. The sponsor requires cost sharing as a condition of applying for an award
  2. The University chooses to demonstrate commitment to a project for competitive reasons; or
  3. The sponsor’s limit on the maximum award possible means that it will not fund the full project amount and the University agrees provide specified additional funding to the project above the amount that would be awarded  by the sponsor.

In cases where the grant application requires or would benefit from a cost-sharing or matching component, the University will work with the project director to determine appropriate cost-sharing or matching commitments before the grant is submitted. Any agreements reached on the matter of cost-sharing or matching commitment for a particular grant, will need to be renegotiated if a grant that was submitted previously was rejected and is in the process of being resubmitted.

One final instance of cost sharing occurs when a cost overrun occurs on a sponsored agreement and the overrun is covered by the University. This will happen in rare cases, and only with approval by the UMW Executive Vice President. The cost overrun would be identified as cost sharing in the University accounting system.