What is meant by the term “Effort”?
Effort is defined as the total of all professional activities which are performed as part of an individual’s employment obligation associated with an individual’s institutional base salary. The “full workload” or “total professional effort” is defined as 100% effort.
What is Effort Reporting?
Effort Reporting is a method for documenting activity expended in support of all sponsored projects.
What is the difference between labor distribution and Effort Reporting?
Labor (payroll) distributions and effort reports are related but not the same thing. Labor distribution reflects the activities to which salary is charged in the payroll system while an effort reports describes the allocation of an individual’s actual time spent on the project whether or not reimbursed by the sponsor. Thus effort reporting is separate from and can be independent of salary charges.
Who is subject to Effort Reporting/Effort Certification?
Faculty, staff and graduate students will complete effort certification reports if they perform work on any sponsored project, funded directly or by a federal pass-through organization as well as any work related to activities to fulfill their individual employment obligation to the University, whether the effort is paid or unpaid. Non-exempt employees, undergraduates and/or college work study students who complete auditable time sheets and pre/post-doctoral students, supported only by fellowships are not subject to effort reporting procedures.
What is meant by the term “Effort Certification”?
Effort reporting is the mandated method of certifying to the granting agency that the effort charged or cost shared has actually taken place. Effort Certification is the process for ensuring compliance with the payroll distribution requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance, which addresses "principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements with educational institutions." The policies, provisions, and cost accounting standards in the Uniform Guidance are mandatory for institutions which directly or indirectly receive federal funds. Essentially, this process ensures that direct labor charges to sponsored projects are reasonable and reflect actual work performed.
Who should certify effort?
Effort of faculty, staff and graduate students should be certified either by the employee or by an individual having suitable means of verifying the effort distribution (e.g., the principal investigator, department administrator or designee having oversight and firsthand knowledge of the employee’s effort). The department administrator will ensure that all certifications are completed accurately and timely.
When is Effort certified?
Effort is now certified quarterly per fiscal year. Effort reports for quarters after December 31, 2015 need to be pre-reviewed and certified in the Banner Effort Reporting System via DrexelOne. Effort reports for periods prior to December 31, 2015 were completed biannually, and must be pre-reviewed and certified in the Maximus Effort Reporting System.
Why do I need to re-certify effort because I put through a salary reallocation?
Effort certification is the process for ensuring compliance with the payroll distribution requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance, which addresses "principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements with educational institutions." The policies, provisions, and cost accounting standards in the Uniform Guidance are mandatory for institutions which directly or indirectly receive federal funds. Essentially, this process ensures that direct labor charges to sponsored projects are reasonable and reflect actual work performed. A salary reallocation records a change to university records so if a salary reallocation is requested and processed, a revised effort report will be generated and will need to be re-certified.
What is a “Person Month” & How Do I Calculate It?
The following is an excerpt from the National Institutes of Health posting on 3/31/17:
A “person month” is the metric for expressing the effort (amount of time) principal investigators (PIs), faculty and other senior personnel devote to a specific project. The effort is based on the type of appointment of the individual with the organization; e.g., calendar year (CY), academic year (AY), and/or summer term (SM); and the organization’s definition of such. For instance, some institutions define the academic year as a 9-month appointment while others define it as a 10-month appointment.
Conversion of percentage of effort to person months is straight-forward. To calculate person months, multiply the percentage of your effort associated with the project times the number of months of your appointment. For example:
- 25% of a 9 month academic year appointment equals 2.25 (AY) person months (9 x 0.25= 2.25)
- 10% of a 12 month calendar appointment equals 1.2 (CY) person months (12 x 0.10 = 1.2)
- 35% of a 3 month summer term appointment equals 1.05 (SM) person months (3 x 0.35= 1.05)
- 10% of a 0.5 FTE 12 month appointment equals 0.6 (CY) person months (12 x .5 X .1 = 0.6)
- If the regular pay schedule of an institution is a 9 month academic year and the PI will devote 9 months at 30% time/effort and 3 months summer term at 30% time/effort to the project, then 2.7 academic months and .9 summer months should be listed in the academic and summer term blocks of the application (9 x 30% = 2.7 person months; 3 x 30%= .9)
Where can I find a list of effort reporting due dates?