General purpose computers which are non-capital equipment (valued under $5k) - especially laptops - can be used to support a variety of activities and are typically not allowable as direct charges to federal awards. As a result, general purpose computers and laptops are typically considered under the federal guidelines to be F&A (indirect) costs. Exceptions may exist for computers and laptops which are dedicated to a particular research function and necessary for the conduct of a particular statement of work and justified as an "unlike circumstance," that is, above the normal level of everyday use required by a project. For such computers to be eligible as direct costs on sponsored awards, they must be distinguished from general-purpose computers. To be considered as direct costs, federal guidelines provide that computers should be:
- Necessary to fulfill the project's technical scope of work;
- Fully described and justified in the proposal narrative and budget;
- Specially identified with and used primarily on the project; and
- Approved by the sponsor.
Note that a single computer typically cannot be justified for multiple grants.
| Examples when direct changing of computers may be appropriate | Examples when direct charging of computers may not be appropriate |
|---|---|
| Computers are connected to scientific equipment | Computers used for general and administrative tasks such as reading email, word processing, financial reports, web surfing |
| Computers are necessary to conduct field studies | Computers used for general reporting on awards, such as progress reports, technical reports |
| Computers are used as a server for research calculations | |
| Computers are necessary to store human subjects data in order to maintain the confidentiality of the data | |
| Computers must be destroyed at the end of the project as per sponsor requirements | |
| Examples when direct charging of computing supplies may be appropriate | Examples when direct charging of computing supplies may not be appropriate |
| Hard drives are used for extensive data storage mandated by sponsor or which exceed normal departmental storage capacity | Computer paper, printer toner, diskettes/jump drives |
| Software that is not generally available or for which UK does not have license and is necessary to perform the technical scope of the project | Software for which UK has a site license, e.g. MS Office, Word, Excel, etc. |
Who to Contact:
Post-Award Administration
For all questions after your proposal has been awarded, the Post-Award Administration Staff is responsible for managing proposals that have been funded by a sponsoring agency.
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