Budgets

Next Generation Network (NGN)

Page at a Glance:

• Overview

• Who are the NGN Costs applicable to

• How are the NGN Rates calculated

• Communication User Rates

• How to present the NGN Costs in a Proposal Budget/Line-Item Category

• Contact Information

Overview:

Effective July 1, 2001, through the combined efforts of Academic Computing Services (ACS)/Network Operations and Administrative Computing and Telecommunications (ACT), UCSD implemented the Next Generation Network (NGN), an enhanced data and voice network to support the needs of the campus community.

 

The NGN funding model is applied to the proposal budgets for all new and existing contract and grant awards.

 

The Office of Contract and Grant Administration (OCGA) was asked to provide the following guidance for estimating the NGN costs in proposals to extramural sponsors.

 

For further detailed information regarding Next Generation Network (NGN), click here.

 

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Who are the NGN Costs applicable to:

NGN costs on contracts and grants will generally be assessed for all University employees who are defined as a "Communication User", providing such employee is requesting salary on an award. The NGN cost must be charged consistently and to the same source as the total or pro-rated salary of the communication user.

 

"Communication Users" are determined by Title Code and defined as employees who are expected to make use of a telephone and/or data network as part of their daily activities. To see a list of Title Codes, click here.

 

Such title codes have been formally designated by a campus committee which included representatives from each area of the campus.

 

Please Note: There are exceptions. NGN costs will not be assessed on undergraduate or graduate students, regardless of whether the student is paid from the award by either a stipend or a salary.

 

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How are the NGN Rates calculated:

In order to calculate the appropriate rate for each "Communication User" in the budget, the department must determine the building code/location of each user. This determination should be made by using the building location of the user listed in the UCSD Telephone and Electronic Mail Directory.

 

To confirm the building's status as on-campus and access the Building Location list, click here.

 

Please Note: NGN costs may or may not coincide with the project's determination as on or off-campus for indirect cost rate assessment purposes.

 

Once the building status of the communication user has been determined as noted above, the rate is calculated on a prorated basis on the percentage of salary estimated to be charged to the award. For example: If only one on-campus communication user is charging 5% salary to the award, the calculation would be $79 x 5% = $3.95/month.

 

Please Note: If the user is a part-time employee the rate is reduced accordingly. For example: The on-campus rate for a 50% employee is $39.50/month ($79 x 50%), prorated by the percentage of salary charged to the award.

 

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Communication User Rates:

Please Note: The tables below are for All Communication Users except for Postdoctoral Scholars. The tables for Postdoctoral Scholars appear after the All Communication Users table below.

All Communication Users:

 

 

 

 

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Postdoctoral Scholar Rates - Employee, Fellow, or Paid Direct:

The rates below have been adjusted to reflect a percentage of the rates of a standard communications user.

 

 

 

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How to present the NGN Costs in a Proposal Budget/Line-Item Category:

• After the rate has been calculated for each communication user, the amounts should be totaled and included as one cost under an Other Expenses category. The cost should be designated as communications/computing.

• If an agency requires an explanation in a budget justification, it is suggested that the following be utilized:

• "Communications/Computing costs have been included for telephone and associated voice and data communications charges which are directly related to the individuals working on the project."

• Please Note: The above statement does not apply to NIH modular grant proposals.

• In the event that a sponsor requests further information about the NGN costs, the OCGA will provide additional documentation to the sponsor. As with Tuition Remission costs, there may be a few sponsors who will not allow such costs. In such instances, the department MSO/DBO will need to pursue other options for coverage of the cost on a case-by-case basis.

• As noted within the NGN Overview in Blink, the communication user rate does not include charges for telephone tolls, telephone instruments, voice mail, high bandwidth use and one-time installations. If you are presently including such costs in proposals, you still need to include additional costs for these items. It is suggested that you combine these costs with the NGN costs and include as a lump sum total.

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Contact Information:

It was ACS/ACT's anticipation that the majority of existing awards would not be adversely financially impacted by the new model. If you have questions about the impact to an individual award, please contact your Department Chair, Dean or Vice Chancellor for assistance.

 

For general questions on NGN, please contact Sheryl Gerbracht in ACT Office 858-534-7339.

 

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