19 Aug
2008
19 Aug
'08
12:40 p.m.
Yeah, but part of the grant always goes to
administrative overhead.
Splat!
"Administrative overhead" is a big red flag for the organizations that
are issuing the grants. It is the easiest way to hide little "extras"
in a grant that get used for things outside the scope of the proposal.
Now these things might be valid expenses - or they may be a new boat
and car for the researcher. Because it is not clear how this overhead
is being spent without an audit of some sort, many organizations will
discard proposals that have "administrative overhead". Every real
organization has administrative overhead with any project it does - it
should be dealt with independently.
The rule of thumb for writing a grant proposal that has a chance of
being accepted is to be extremely specific about the project, and not
include places where "extras" can be hidden. For example, if a
computer museum wants a new floor for the data center, the grant
proposal really should include only the projected costs of the
materials, transportation, and labor, all broken down into real
numbers. Not a penny more to anything not related directly to the
floor.
At any rate, the grant is going to be issued as the
parent
organization and not directly to you; that's the whole point of
working under an umbrella organization. But yes, you're correct that
grants are legal documents with restrictions that have to be observed.
It is wiser to keep any kick backs to the parent organization
completely outside any grants, and wise to keep them above the table.
--
Will