Section F 6B of A-21

Section F.6.b is a short section that has caused more problems for those developing budgets and applying costs than any other.  This is because it receives critical examinations for application, has been misinterpreted many times, and even has exceptions to the rules.  Section F.6.b contains the guidelines you need to determine if the departmental administrative costs are direct or F&A.

Extreme care must be taken in determining if a normal departmental administrative cost can be charged directly to the sponsored project. Even the rules say to take care!  This care must be taken to ensure that we do things consistently (throughout this circular, the term is used over and over, so we must always remember to apply things the same - consistency is the name of the game!)

For example,  treat the following DIRECT COSTS WHEN they can be identified with a particular cost objective:

• salaries of technical staff 
• laboratory supplies, 
• telephone toll charges, 
• animals, 
• animal care costs, 
• computer costs, 
• travel costs, and 
• specialized shop costs.  

Apply these as direct costs by identifying the costs and link them to the benefiting cost objectives, or through recharge centers or specialized service facilities.

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