The activity type is the basis for Facilities & Administrative (F&A) rates applied to a project. The activity type is used by the Financial Services Office to determine the overhead and space commitments of Sponsored Research at the University of Arizona. Even though a project may contain parts of multiple categories, a single overall goal of the project must be determined.
The F&A rate should be consistent with the classification of the project according to the following table.
The FY25 F&A Rate Agreement was signed May 2024.
Standard F&A Rate Table
| Activity type | Description | FY 24 Rate1 | FY 25 Rate1 | FY 26 Rate1 | FY 27 Rate1 | Rate Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research (On-campus) | Intended to result in the creation, development, organization, and/or application of knowledge; Activities include rigorous inquiry, experimentation or investigation to increase scholarly understanding, as well as systematic application of knowledge or understanding toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods. | 53.5% MTDC | 54.5% MTDC | 55.0% MTDC | 55.5% MTDC | Federal Negotiated Rate |
| Commercial/For Profit, Foreign Government Research (On-campus) | Activity intended to result in the creation, organization, and/or application of knowledge | 53.5% + 9% = 62.5% MTDC | 55.5% + 9% = 64.5% MTDC | 55.5% + 9% = 64.5% MTDC | 55.5% + 9% = 64.5% MTDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Commercial/For Profit, Foreign Government (Off-campus) | Activity intended to result in the creation, organization, and/or application of knowledge | 26% + 9% = 35% MTDC | 26% + 9% = 35% MTDC | 26% + 9% = 35% MTDC | 26% + 9% = 35% MTDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Research (Off-campus) | Research that occurs off-campus³ | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | Federal Negotiated Rate |
| Instruction (On-campus) | Intended to elicit education change in a learner or group of learners | 50% MTDC | 40% MTDC | 40% MTDC | 40% MTDC | Federal Negotiated Rate |
| Instruction Commercial/For Profit, Foreign Government | Intended to elicit education change in a learner or group of learners | 50% + 9% = 59% MTDC | 40% + 9% = 49% MTDC | 40% + 9% = 49% MTDC | 40% + 9% = 49% MTDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Instruction (Off-campus) | Instruction that occurs off-campus³ | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | Federal Negotiated Rate |
| Other Sponsored Activity (On-campus) | Activity that responds to a community need or solves a public problem | 47% MTDC | 38% MTDC | 38% MTDC | 38% MTDC | Federal Negotiated Rate |
| Other Sponsored Activity Commercial/For Profit, Foreign Government | Activity that responds to a community need or solves a public problem | 47% + 9% = 56% MTDC | 38% + 9% = 47% MTDC | 38% + 9% = 47% MTDC | 38% + 9% = 47% MTDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Other Sponsored Activity (Off-campus) | Other Sponsored Activity that occurs off-campus³ | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | 26% MTDC | Federal Negotiated Rate |
| Clinical Trial⁴ | Protocol-driven drug and device testing involving human subjects, generally funded by for-profit sponsors | 30% TDC | 30% TDC | 30% TDC | 30% TDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Student Experiential Learning | Projects conducted by students not employed by UA, as part of a course requirement (linked to a course number), not including graduate research credits | 25% TDC | 25% TDC | 25% TDC | 25% TDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Consortia Memberships | Fees paid by a sponsor to become a member of an agreement based UA consortium; reach out to your college/dept for clarifications and allowances to apply this rate and allowable costs. | 10% TDC | 10% TDC | 10% TDC | 10% TDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Inter-personnel Agreements | Placement of UA staff at another institution which has responsibility for daily supervision of the staff member | 15% TDC | 15% TDC | 15% TDC | 15% TDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Arizona State and County Agencies | Projects sponsored by Arizona state agencies where the agency indicates that this is the maximum rate allowed ⁶ | 10% TDC | 10% TDC | 10% TDC | 10% TDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| Federal Prizes | No required research component. ⁵ | 0% MTDC | 0% MTDC | 0% MTDC | 0% MTDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| TRIF/ABOR Funding | Funding from Arizona Board of Regents and/or Technology and Research Initiative Fund |
0% MTDC | 0% MTDC | 0% MTDC | 0% MTDC | Other Standard UA F&A Rate |
| STTR/SBIR Phase 1 | STTR/SBIR Phase 1 projects will be granted a one time waiver for 15% TDC. Note that NIH and NSF will not accept this waiver and strictly adhere to the UA's NICRA | 15% TDC | 15% TDC | 15% TDC | 15% TDC | F&A Waiver |
1 Rates are MTDC for Research, Instruction, and Other Sponsored Activity. All other rates are TDC minimum rates.
2 For any activity in which we are a subrecipient and our sponsor's prime agreement is with a federal agency, our federally negotiated rates apply to our work.
3 For the definition of what constitutes off campus activity, please see the definition below.
4 This rate applies only to clinical trials that meet the criteria described on the F&A Costs page.
5Please note this is specific to prizes which follow the federal sponsor's criteria for their definition of what constitutes as a prize.
⁶Please note this rate is specific to precedence set by the sponsor and will be updated to reflect the current rates applicable by the sponsor.
Definition of Off-Campus
The off-campus rate is applicable to those projects that are conducted in facilities not owned, leased or operated by the University. If the project is conducted in leased space and lease costs are directly charges to the project, then the off-campus rate must be used. A project is considered off-campus if more than 50% of its salaries and wages are incurred at an off-campus facility. If a project is determined to be off-campus, it shall be considered wholly off-campus. Separate on and off-campus rates will not be used for a single project.
The criterion for determining whether activity is conducted on‐campus or off‐campus for a sponsored project is as follows: when 50 percent or more of budgeted University of Arizona time and effort is performed on‐campus, then the on‐campus indirect cost rate applies; when more than 50 percent of budgeted University of Arizona time and effort is performed off‐campus, the off‐campus indirect cost rate (26%) applies. Note that any subaward or vendor service costs are not considered University of Arizona time and effort in the determination of preponderance of time and effort.
Working remotely does not equate to application of the off-campus rate; the off-campus rate should be applied when projects conducted in facilities that the university does not own, lease, or operate:
- Leased Space: If your project is taking place in a leased facility and the lease costs are charged directly to the project, you should use the off-campus rate.
- Salaries and Wages: If more than 50% of the project’s salaries and wages are incurred at an off-campus facility, the project is considered off-campus. Once determined, the entire project is treated as off-campus. There's no mixing of on-campus and off-campus rates.
For further clarification, please visit the Financial Services page for On/Off Campus Rate Guidance.
Industry and Foreign Government Cost Rate
UArizona’s Facilities and Administration (F&A) rates are negotiated between the University and the Department of Health and Human Services every three years. While these rates change nominally during these negotiations, the administrative costs allowed to be charged to federally sponsored agreements awarded are at 26% of Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC). This artificial cap translates into an approximately 3.5% shortfall on recovered Administrative costs. Institutionally there is approximately a 9% gap between the University’s negotiated federal F&A rate and the uncapped rate. While the University of Arizona has not thus far chosen to do so, most Universities in the AAU charge the full rate to non-Federal sponsors.
In order to maximize recovery of the true costs of research where feasible, as of July 1, 2021, the University will follow suit with the majority of AAU universities and assess an Administrative Fee of a minimum of 9% MTDC in addition to the federal F&A rate on all industry-sponsored research and research sponsored by foreign governments.
- Any proposal submitted to SPS on July 1, 2021 or later must use the new rate
- As a reminder, sponsored activity budgets submitted to sponsors that have not been approved by SPS through the UAR proposal process should be considered provisional, and are non-binding to the university
- All stipulations directly associated with a RFP will be accepted
- F&A waivers are not granted for industry sponsors