Cost Share

Cost Share occurs when a quantified portion of the costs of an Award are not paid by the sponsor, but paid instead using resources within a department, school/college, or other party outside of the UW. Cost Share is a commitment made either by University to use resources other than the Award itself for completion of the Award objectives.

Cost Share is Mandatory when required by the sponsor, or Committed when the PI voluntarily commits to providing quantified resources to complete the Award objectives. Both types must be tracked during the post award phase.

The University discourages use of voluntary cost share. In training the mantra is Just Say No the Cost Share. It creates a higher administrative burden that is unfunded and lowers the F&A rate at UW. If you still want to Cost Share, then quantify the non-sponsor contributions for faculty time, staff time, money towards the project. If awarded, then these are required to be tracked in the Cost Share System at UW and reported back to the sponsor.  

If the goal is to show institutional support, but not as Cost Share, then here are some suggestions.

• Don't quantify the support in the proposal
• Don't use the words cost share
• Don't include match letters in the proposal
• Therefore, don't enter any information on the eGC1 Cost Share page (if reviewers feel this is inaccurate then a discussion can take place and be resolved)
• Do narratively describe support from internal sources
  • "We have use of lab space, equipment, etc. to ensure we can do great work..."
  • Letter(s) of Support(s) can say that resources are available to the project; it is okay to name resources, without $$ or FTE
  • The Budget Justification can describe the resources provided to the project as long as they are not quantified ($$ or FTE)
• Do ask for guidance if you are unsure