Types of cost sharing
Mandatory committed cost sharing
Resources committed to and budgeted for by NAU in Sponsored project proposals as required by the terms of the sponsor and project. Resources must be clearly included and itemized in the budget and subsequently tracked and documented for reporting to the sponsor.
Voluntary committed cost sharing
Resources committed to and budgeted for by NAU in sponsored project proposals without a specific sponsor or project requirement. Resources must be clearly included and itemized in the budget and subsequently tracked and documented for reporting to the sponsor.
Voluntary uncommitted cost sharing
Resources offered by NAU in sponsored project proposals without a specific sponsor requirement. Resources are not budgeted for (nor therefore tracked or documented) but may be referenced in the proposal.
| Mandatory and voluntary committed cost sharing | Uncommitted cost sharing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAU cost sharing | Non-NAU cost sharing (quantified) | Non-NAU cost sharing (not quantified) | NAU other commitments | Internal NAU agreements | ||
| Required by sponsor | Yes (mandatory cost sharing) | No (voluntary committed cost sharing) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Qualitatively described in proposal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Quantitative in proposal | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Tracked in People Soft | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Included in financial report to sponsor | Yes | Yes - check details with OSP | Yes - check details with OSP | No | No | No |
| Subject to audit | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Quantified cost sharing
Cost sharing that is quantified, regardless of whether it is being provided as NAU cost sharing or non-NAU cost sharing, is a condition of the award when included in a proposal or an award budget and therefore subject to audit. It is important, therefore, that any cost sharing commitments are reflected in the project accounts once an award is received. Failure to properly record cost sharing may result in audit findings and disallowances of costs that must be refunded to the appropriate sponsor and/or reduce NAU’s indirect cost rate during future negotiations.