GUIDELINES
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GUIDELINES FOR USING RHOI/NSF FUNDS
ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL RHOI PROJECTS, ANALYTICAL WORKING GROUPS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
RECIPIENTS SHOULD REVIEW WITH THEIR OWN INSTITUTION ANY AND ALL POLICIES RELEVANT TO ANY INSIDE AND OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES FUNDED BY NSF/RHOI.
Refer to these guidelines prior to spending any money from the RHOI. These protocols summarize but DO NOT substitute for the NSF Grant Policy Manual, available online at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=aag081&org=NSF
Each Project leader/AWG coordinator is responsible for the proper spending and accounting for of their respective advance of NSF funds. Since the NSF is a US government agency, the use of its funds is subject to specific government rules and regulations. This document summarizes the regulations most applicable to the RHOI Projects/AWG.
If
further explanations are needed, contact the Principal Investigator: 
T. WHITE.
ACCOUNTING
• Funds will be granted to you on an annual basis, beginning 1 July and ending 30 June of the following year. Funds which are not spent at the end of the year must be reported to T.D. White.
• In order to receive the RHOI/NSF funds, you must open an internal institutional account, or a separate bank account directly under the name of your Project/AWG. This account must be dedicated solely to RHOI/NSF funds in order to avoid any mixing (co-mingling) with other sources of funding.
• A complete record of all costs and their justifications must be kept. NO RHOI/NSF FUNDS MAY BE SPENT WITHOUT OBTAINING A DATED RECEIPT. Receipts must be dated after July 23, 2003, the date of the first year’s award grant.
• Foreign currency exchange rates are calculated at the time of accounting. Documentation of the basis of the exchange rate (the name of the bank or website, etc.) and the date on which the exchange was calculated must be reported.
• Receipts are required for all RHOI salary expenses. These must include: name, type of labor, wage, signature, date and total salary (see below).
• Non-salaried RHOI participants receiving RHOI per diem MUST SIGN a dated receipt to that effect. Per diem must be proven by actual expenditures or by airline ticket stubs and receipts verifying length of stay.See “TRAVEL” below.
GENERAL REGULATIONS ON EXPENDITURES
THESE
RULES APPLY IN ALL CASES AND AT ALL TIMES
RULE 1.
Costs MUST BE RELATED to the use defined in the RHOI/NSF PROPOSAL, and
NEVER FOR PERSONAL USE.
For Projects, funds will be allowable for conducting field and laboratory
research as well as institutional curation and publication of results.
For AWG’s, funds will be allowable for travel and attendant meeting
costs.
RULE
2. All costs
must be REASONABLE. Use rules of good judgment and clear and justifiable
accountability when making all purchases. Always consult the attached
lists of “Permitted” and “Prohibited” purchase
items and services. If any doubts remain, consult T.D. WHITE.
RULE
3. You must
obey the law. Penalties for any law violations (e. g. penalties for unlicensed
fieldwork, dangerous driving, …) in any country are unallowable.
For RHOI activities in countries other than USA, all permit and licenses
required by the host country and/or political subdivision must be obtained
and must be valid. Otherwise, all costs for an unauthorized Project are
unallowable.
RULE
4. Never
permittable are: alcoholic beverages, entertainment, amusement and social
activity costs. NEVER submit a receipt that includes these things.
RULE
5. RHOI/NSF
cannot assume liability or costs for accidents, illnesses or claims arising
out of any work supported by the RHOI funds, or for unauthorized use of
patented or copyrighted materials.
TRAVEL
• Travel costs are restricted to AWG and project personnel.
• In all cases, personnel must travel in jet economy class. Business and First class fares are not permitted. For long-distance travel by surface carriers (train, bus, etc…), the lowest first-class fare is permitted, provided it does not exceed the cost of jet economy class fare for the same trip.
• Lodging and subsistence costs are permitted during RHOI related travel, but these costs should be reasonable and justifiable. Alcoholic beverages are NEVER permitted.
• Documentation for participant per diem for lodging, meals, food, laundry, and local transportation — other incidental expenses are NOT allowed by the RHOI — can take one of two forms:
1. Individual receipts detailing every allowable expenditure.
OR
2. A signed per diem receipt detailing the daily per diem rate claimed and the number of days it was claimed. The total number of days per diem was claimed needs to be verified by airline ticket stubs plus other individual receipts demonstrating presence and length of stay in the foreign country/city.
• Daily costs for lodging and subsistence MUST NEVER exceed the US State Department’s MAXIMUM per diem allowance. The following link provides per diem rates by country and city:
http://perdiem.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/perdiemrates.html
• Taxes encountered during RHOI-related travel, such as airport taxes, are allowable.
• All travel MUST be performed through a US air carrier or its code-sharing partner whenever possible. In code-sharing arrangements, tickets identify the US air carrier’s code and flight number.
• In some circumstances, neither a US air carrier nor a code-sharing partner can be used, in which case a non-US air carrier may be used so long as you specify why the non-US carrier was used.
Further conditions under which a non-US air carrier may be used (PDF)
MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
• All materials and supplies necessary to the goals of the RHOI Projects may be purchased. No items purchased with RHOI funds may be used for private non-Project related purposes at any time. You must be able to justify the purchase of all material.
• For any single item having a cost of more than $5,000, ALWAYS consult T.D. WHITE prior to spending funds.
• Refer to the extensive but non-comprehensive lists of permitted and prohibited costs below.
LABOR AND SALARIES
• Salaries and wages are permitted for technical staff directly but temporarily participating in the RHOI Projects/AWG works. This includes any laborers in field situations, and necessary laboratory assistants there or at the home institution.
• RHOI/NSF funds shall not be used to pay salaries of professional scientists who are members of the RHOI. Only per-diem costs of these individuals are allowable.
SCIENTIFIC SERVICES
• The costs for institutional services, involving highly complex or specialized facilities, are permitted if they are necessary for the RHOI Project work. For example: stable or chrono-radioisotopic analyses, imaging, etc…
COMMUNICATIONS
• Communications (phone, international and local, faxes, etc…) are allowable if directly related to the RHOI.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
• Costs of communications to public and press in the framework of the RHOI and its results are permitted.
PUBLICATIONS
• The costs of all kind of publications made in order to share the RHOI findings are permitted. This includes scientific papers and their usual page charges.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND DISCLAIMER
• You and your institution are responsible for assuring that any publication including World Wide Web pages developed under or based on NSF support of your project includes an acknowledgment of that support in the following terms:
"This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0321893."
• You and your institution are also responsible for assuring that, in any publication including World Wide Web pages which contains material based on or developed under your award, (other than a scientific article or paper appearing in a scientific, technical, or professional journal) this acknowledgment is accompanied by the following disclaimer:
"Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation."
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
• Costs of participation in meetings and conferences in order to disseminate information on the RHOI findings are permitted. These include travel, meals, transportation, room rentals, and preparation costs.
• If Projects wish to organize meetings beyond those projected in the RHOI proposal, or to deviate from the proposed sequence on number of meetings, contact T.D. WHITE.
ANALYTICAL WORKING GROUP-FUNDING PROTOCOL
Analytical Working Group funding may be used for the following:
1. Travel to and from AWG group meeting(s).
2. Subsistence during AWG group meeting(s).
3. Documentation efforts (photography, molding, casting, measurement) directed towards AWG activities.
Analytical Working Group leaders wishing to extend expenditures beyond these categories should consult, on a case-by-case basis, with the RHOI Principal Investigators in advance of any such need.
RECEIPT, SALARY AND PER DIEM FORMS
Original receipts for all expenditures must be collected in the accounting process and submitted to Mt. San Jacinto Community College (see exact address in bold below) by registered mail at the end of each accounting year. Please submit your yearly accounting using the RHOI accounting spreadsheet below.
RHOI ACCOUNTING SPREADSHEET (opens in Excel)
SALARY RECEIPT ______________[1]
I, _________________________,
have received ___________[2] per day for a total of ______ days (total
salary: ___________[2]) for my work between __________ and __________
as a(n) __________________[3].
Signed:
___________________
Signature
___________________
Date
___________________[5]
Witness
PER DIEM RECEIPT__________________[1]
I, ________________________,
have received a Per Diem of ____________[2] from the RHOI for a total
of ______ days for ______________________________[3] at ______________________[4].
City entry Date:___________________
Exit
Date____________________.
Signed:
___________________
Signature
___________________
Date
__________________[5]
Witness
Notes:
1- Enter project/AWG name
2- Enter amount AND currency
3- Enter type of work undertaken
4- Enter country and city
5- Witness: someone present at receipt signing
___________________________________
Send original receipts to:
Business
Services
Attention: Catalina Cruz
Mt. San Jacinto College
1499 N. State St
San Jacinto, CA 92583
USA