What is Effort Reporting and why do we do it?
Effort reporting is the process by which a PI confirms that the percentage of salary charged to a sponsored project is reasonable in relation to the percentage of the total effort expended on that project.
Effort reporting is required to document the salaries that are funded by sponsored projects. Rather than researchers and PIs maintaining time sheets or logs, effort reporting requires PIs to confirm each quarter the actual percentage of their overall activities (effort) and corresponding salary that were devoted to each project worked on during the quarter. Although such documentation is a requirement for federal funding, many private funders have adopted similar requirements. University policy requires effort certification on all sponsored projects, regardless of the funder.
How precise must my effort report be?
Effort percentages do not need to be exact, but they must reasonably reflect the percentage of effort devoted to each project, considering all an individual’s sponsored and non-sponsored activities. As federal regulations state, "… it is recognized that, in an academic setting, teaching, research, service and administration are often inextricably intermingled. A precise assessment of factors that contribute to costs is not always feasible, nor is it expected." Effort reporting is an individual’s best estimate of how effort was spent during the period.
Is the effort reporting just confirmation that the salaries were in fact distributed as indicated on the effort certification?
No. When certifying effort, you are confirming that the salary that was paid (your own or that of your research staff) reasonably reflects the minimum time actually spent, taking into account all of an individual’s University activities.
The salary and effort data on the effort report come directly from the University’s Human Compensation System (PeopleSoft) and reflects how salary was originally distributed at the time the funding was received. If the effort provided was greater than 5% more/less than what is shown on the effort statement, you must enter a correction. Such an adjustment will require the effort coordinator to process a cost transfer to correct the distribution.