How are F&A rates determined

How are F&A Rates Determined for Individual Grants and Contracts?

The actual F&A rates for most Federally sponsored project awards are the standard rates referred to in the University’s F&A rate agreement. While it should be customary practice to use the University’s negotiated standard F&A rates on all sponsored projects, there are certain exceptions in which not all sponsors can reimburse the University for F&A costs at the negotiated rates. The following are some exceptions:

• Statutory limitations prevent some Federal sponsors from reimbursing F&A costs at the Federally-negotiated rates. 
• Many non-Federal sponsors such as state, local, and private agencies have policies concerning the reimbursement of F&A costs at less than the Federally-negotiated rates. 

The F&A rate applied to individual awards is determined by:

• Published sponsor policy or,
• Statutory limitations or,
• The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) during the final negotiation of an award, generally a contract, with a given sponsoring agency

Once an F&A rate is set with a sponsor for an individual award, it remains in effect throughout the entire competitive cycle of the award