The largest category of direct project expense at Stanford is salary and benefits. The Principal Investigator is responsible for reviewing the way in which effort is allocated to projects. Percentages of effort charged to a project are validated and certified by the Principal Investigator:

• as a % of effort (not as a specified number of hours) devoted to benefit the project
• and must reflect a corresponding % of effort expended on that project

When a Principal Investigator manages a lab with multiple ongoing projects, the distribution of effort of the PI, students, researchers and other staff must be carefully thought out. There should be a reasonable relationship between salary distribution and the actual proportion of effort devoted to the project when charging salary.

The Effort Allocation Resource Page, available online includes a “general primer” on effort allocation.

Key References

Links for tools related to this topic are provided below:

University Payroll, Administrative Guide Memo 35

Payroll Administration

Overview: About the Labor Distribution Module of Oracle Financials

Effort Allocation Resource Page

March 9, 2001 memo regarding Salary charges for Principal Investigators on research projects - Attachment to the memo

Fiscal Responsibilities of Principal Investigators (PIs), RPH 3.1

Clarification of A-21 on Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing

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