5 Myths About Voluntary Cost-Sharing

So picture this: you’re reading through your “Request for Proposals” from a sponsor and you find this sentence:

“Cost sharing not required”

Sounds great, right? Cost sharing, or, matching a percentage of sponsor funds, can be incredibly difficult to come up with. Especially in this era of tight budgets! You breathe a sigh of relief and move on.

But then you start thinking: “But what does ‘not required’ really mean? Will cost sharing make my proposal more competitive? Will it make me look like I have departmental support?”

But not so fast! Before committing yourself, do yourself a favor and review these 5 myths about voluntary cost sharing that are becoming increasingly prevalent in university culture.

Have additions to this list? Questions or comments? Leave them below!

Myth #1: “Voluntary cost share will make my proposal stronger!”

For federal grants? Nope. Local and foundation grants? Not necessarily. Some agencies, like NSF, straight-up prohibit cost share (because of how burdensome it is to track). The moral of the story – if the sponsor says cost sharing is not part of the scored review, piling it on will not help. If anything, gathering the third party pledges and convincing your chair to commit a percentage of the department’s budget will distract you from the required parts of your proposal. When a sponsor – like the NEH – says cost share is “recommended” talk to your department’s research administrator or grants manager to see what that has really meant for past proposals.

Myth #2: “I can just use the project expenses that weren’t allowed in the budget as easy cost share.”

This is a great way to get your proposal rejected without even getting read. Unless the sponsor says differently, costs that are unallowable for the proposed budget are unallowable for formally proposed cost share – even if it’s voluntary. The biggest exception sponsors make are unrecovered Facilities and Administrative (indirect) costs. So if the sponsor is only allowing a small percentage of your institution’s rate to be charged, you might be able to use that as match. But be sure to get that from the sponsor in writing.

Myth #3: “If the cost share is voluntary, I won’t have to report it back to the sponsor.”

If cost sharing appears in the agreement’s approved budget, you have to track it, regardless of whether your match was required or not. That means you must report it on fiscal communications, post it to the project, and make sure you meet the match. If, at the end of your project, you still have cost share to report, you could endanger future funding for yourself and your university, just as you would with a required match.

Myth #4: “Voluntary cost share is the best way for me to show that I have support for this project.”

Even if PIs don’t say this out loud, most of them believe it wholeheartedly. Thankfully, there are many effective ways to show that your proposed project enjoys widespread support. Most federal applications have sections in the narrative where you can list equipment, laboratories, community resources and departmental assets that will be available to you (for NIH, there are a few sections specifically designated for this information). Some smaller sponsors allow for letters of support to be attached, even if no cash amount is specified. But be sure not to include specific dollar amounts or effort percentages – these could appear in the agreement and you will then be required to track them. The NIH is particularly picky about this.

Myth #5: “Voluntary cost share is not ‘real money’.”

If my points above have not convinced you, let me reiterate – There is a real, tangible administrative cost to voluntary matching. These funds must be tracked and reported. They also commit you to fulfilling requirements that could become onerous and distract you from your research – the reason you asked for funding in the first place! 🙂