Indirect Cost (F&A) Reductions and Waivers

If the sponsor does not have a policy limiting Indirect Costs (IDC/F&A) and the Principal Investigator (PI) requests reduced IDC for a budget, CU Boulder requires an Indirect Cost Reduction or Waiver Request ´Ú´Ç°ù³¾.Ìý

If the sponsor has a policy capping IDC, the Indirect Cost Addendum Form is used to document the request and requires approval. The CU Boulder campus unit and Associate Dean of Research must approve the request as an acknowledgment of the loss of IDC.ÌýSee Article III of CU Boulder’s Indirect Cost (F&A) Waivers and Reductions Policy Statement for information when a waiver or reduction request is not required.

CU Boulder relies on IDC for its overall operations. Therefore, approvals of waivers or reductions are selective. CU Boulder will not consider waivers or reductions for proposals with the following types of sponsors:Ìý

  • Federal (Direct or Prime Sponsor)
  • Colorado state government offices
  • Foreign entities

CU Boulder will also not consider waivers or reductions for outgoing subagreements which result from an incoming PI transfer.

In rare cases, waiver or reduction requests for proposals with an industry sponsor may be granted.

For IDC applied on the transfer of an existing subagreement, see the IDC on the Transfer of Existing Subagreements Procedural Statement.

Requests to reduce or waive IDC must be submitted to your unit’s Proposal Analyst a minimum of 10 business days before the published proposal submission deadline to be considered.

Please contact your Proposal Analyst with questions.