Beginning with the June 1, 1999 submission, NIH requested that the modular application format be used for proposals requesting up to $250,000 direct costs per budget period. In some instances, a detailed budget with one or more budget periods with total direct costs over $250,000 may still meet the budget criteria for modular submission. In such a case, the proposal must be submitted as a modular proposal.

You can use EGMS to prepare a modular budget or a detailed budget for a full 398-kit application. To determine if a proposal meets the budget criteria to be a modular proposal, check the Modular box on the EGMS Proposal Settings screen. EGMS will convert the detailed budget to the modular format.

After EGMS converts the detailed budget to the modular format, EGMS checks to see if the modular budget limit has been exceeded. If any budget period's direct costs in modules exceeds $250,000, EGMS alerts you that the proposal cannot be submitted in the modular format. Return to the Proposal Settings screen and uncheck the Modular box. You may then continue to prepare a full 398 application.

Occasionally, investigators have collated detailed budget pages into modular proposal originals and copies delivered to SPA for submission to NIH. However, NIH does not want the budget detail included at the time of proposal submission (see the section below). Do not collate detailed budget pages into a modular proposal original and copies to be sent to NIH.

Prior to submission to NIH, your SPA grant administrator reviews your modular proposal budget. If you have prepared your proposal in EGMS, please do not deliver detailed budget pages to SPA, as your grant administrator can review your budget data online.

NIH has modified the modular application to require the inclusion of all personnel on the budget page and has mandated the use of the correct modular format. Beginning with proposals due September 1, 2000, those not submitted in the correct modular format (as described in this section) will be returned by NIH.

EGMS has been updated so that NIH modular proposals prepared in EGMS will meet the new requirements for September 1, 2000. Entry of detailed budget information is necessary to calculate and submit accurate F&A (indirect) costs to NIH as required and to provide U of MN budget categories for account setup.

1. On the EGMS Proposal Settings screen:

• Select NIH as the prime funding source.
• Check the Modular box.

2. For the Key Personnel Section:

Who to include: This section is now limited to "key personnel" as defined for the full 398-kit application. PI and Co-I are always listed as "key." List the non-key personnel (technicians and students, for example) in the Budget section.

The biosketch: The biosketch is required for all key personnel and can be up to 4 pages per individual. In the 4-page biosketch, an individual's Education, Positions and Honors, and Publications cannot exceed 2 pages. The remaining 2 pages of the 4-page biosketch are to be used for the Research Support listing; the submission of the separate Other Support page is not allowed. Non-U of MN key personnel biosketches must follow the same 4-page format. U of MN To Be Named (TBN) key positions do not require a biosketch.

3. For the Budget Section:

To comply with NIH's requirements regarding the correct format of a modular application, include all personnel for the project in the Budget section.

• Enter detailed budget items in all appropriate subsections. In particular, for modular:

• When you have finished entering all budget details, go to the Modular Information subsection. The modular budget, prepared by EGMS from the budget details entered, is displayed (for information on how EGMS converts a detailed budget to a modular budget, see the section below). If the number of modules for each budget period across the project is the same, you do not have to add any data or use any button on this screen. If you need to justify any modular variance, EGMS provides a prompt about an uneven number of modules. Enter the text justifying the variance in modules, then click the Add button to add the modular variance to the proposal.

For all listed personnel and consultants, the name, role, percent effort, and description of function on the proposed project display on the modular budget detail page. Descriptions or justifications of personnel and roles and functions of consultants on the project are mandatory.

EGMS performs these steps, in order, to convert the detailed budget to the modular budget:

1. For each budget period, EGMS subtracts any one time costs of $25,000 or more from that period's total actual direct costs.
2. EGMS adds up the total actual direct costs for each budget period (less any one time costs of $25,000 or more held out in step 1) for the entire project, then divides by the number of budget periods.
3. EGMS adds back the one time costs that were held out in step 1 to the average actual direct costs obtained in step 2 of the budget period in which they occur.
4. EGMS determines the direct costs in modules for each budget period:

• For budget periods that did not have one time costs held out in step 1, the average actual direct costs obtained in step 2 are rounded up to the nearest $25,000.
• For budget periods that did have one time costs held out in step 1, the actual direct costs obtained in step 3 are rounded up to the nearest $25,000.

If, after step 4, any budget period's direct costs in modules exceeds $250,000, the proposal cannot be submitted in the modular format.

For F&A (indirect costs), EGMS applies the F&A rate to the modified modular direct costs. The modified modular direct costs are the total modular budget costs less equipment, capital (A&R) expenditures, patient care, graduate fringe, space rental costs, physics shop charges, and the portion of each subcontract and subgrant in excess of $25,000 per project period.

For subcontract or consortia, EGMS adds the contractor's direct and indirect costs together and then rounds these costs up to the nearest $1,000 per year. The University considers these combined contract costs as part of the total direct costs. For the calculation of the modular budget, the rounded total contractual costs, as part of the total direct costs to the University, are included in the yearly average of actual direct costs.