The budget of a grant project is not just a table of numbers. It is the financial foundation of your scientific idea, intended to convince the grantor that you are capable of allocating resources rationally, understand the specifics of research planning, and will not waste the money. A poorly prepared budget can significantly reduce your chances of receiving a grant. How can this be avoided? Which cost categories should you include? Read more about this in our article.
What requirements may grantors impose on the budget?
Every organisation that provides funding sets its own requirements for the expenses it may cover. These may include various rules – from fully prohibited cost items to strict limits for specific categories, from mandatory co-funding to fixed percentages of indirect costs.
These rules are not merely a formality, as violating them is one of the most common reasons for grant applications being rejected during the technical review stage. Therefore, before you begin any calculations, it is worth spending time carefully reviewing all the requirements. Below, we will examine the most common ones.
Prohibited or restricted cost items
The grantor clearly specifies what they will never fund or will fund only under special conditions. For example, many funding bodies do not cover the purchase of laptops, tablets, certain types of equipment, room rental, and other costs. Including even a single prohibited item may result in your application being rejected at the technical review stage.
Restrictions on indirect costs
Indirect costs are expenses that are difficult to assign to a specific purchase or individual within the project. These include electricity, heating, internet, cleaning, accounting services, licences, and similar items. Most funding bodies allow only a fixed percentage of such costs to be added to the budget. If you request more than allowed, your budget may fail the review.
Co-funding requirements
Some grantors may require applicants to state whether the project receives funding from other sources, as well as whether the institution they represent is able to contribute its own resources. These rules aim to ensure transparency in the use of funds and to prevent double funding. In most international programmes, the principle is clear: the same project or the same expenses cannot be financed by two different grants at the same time.
There are three main types of co-funding:
- Mandatory co-funding: the applicant must cover a fixed percentage of the budget with their own or partner resources – money, equipment, staff time, facilities, etc.
- Voluntary co-funding: an additional contribution is not required, but it may be offered to strengthen the competitiveness of the application.
- Restricted or prohibited co-funding: in some programmes, it is forbidden to use funds from other grants to cover the same expenses, as the project must be financed exclusively by the given grant. The institution's own resources may be permitted or prohibited depending on the specific programme rules.
Budget formatting
Organisations that provide funding pay attention not only to the content of the budget plan but also to its formatting. Almost every grantor has its own official Excel form or online template where the budget must be entered. For this reason, it is essential to use the correct template with predefined cost categories and the required level of detail; otherwise, your application may be rejected.
Requirements for justifying each cost item
This is likely one of the key aspects of preparing a grant budget. The fate of your project depends on how responsibly you justify each individual cost item. For example, you should not simply write: “salary of junior research assistant – 10,000 PLN”. Instead, you must describe this cost in more detail and explain who this person is, how many months they will work, how many hours per week, why this rate is appropriate, which tasks they will perform. Also, explain why the project cannot be implemented without this person.
The same applies to equipment, travel, and materials. If the justification is weak or entirely missing, reviewers will conclude that you have not properly planned the project and are not capable of allocating the funding rationally.
A well-prepared budget is a significant part of a successful grant application. It demonstrates that you are not only a strong researcher but also a responsible project manager. Approach the budgeting process carefully, and your chances of receiving funding will increase considerably.
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