Genomic Array Purchases

Applying the Facilities and Administrative Rate to Genomic Array Purchases

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a notice on May 13, 2010 regarding the recovery of Facility and Administrative (F&A) costs when purchasing genomic arrays. Effectively, the NIH limited F&A cost reimbursement on purchases of genomic array supplies to the first $75,000 in each grant budget year. Any amount in excess of $75,000 in a given budget year will not be assessed F&A costs. NIH applied this policy prospectively to new competitive awards issued subsequent to the issuance of NIH Notice Number NOT-OD-10-097, Budgeting for Genomic Arrays for NIH Grants, Cooperative Agreements and Contracts.

To properly track genomic arrays expenses and comply with NIH's F&A restrictions, the Controller's Office has set up the following new accounts.

55048 – Genomic Arrays Less Than $75,000 Per Budget Year

  • Genomic arrays expenses equal to or less than $75,000 in a budget year will be charged to this account
  • The F&A rate will be applied to expenses recorded in this account

57819 – Genomic Arrays Greater Than $75,000 Per Budget Year

  • Genomic arrays expenses greater than $75,000 in a budget year will be charged to this account
  • The F&A rate will not be applied to expenses recorded in this account

Example

The following example illustrates how the new accounts will be used.

An award is for three years and genomic arrays expenses are $75,000 in year one, $100,000 in year two, and $150,000 in year three. For each budget year, the F&A rate will be applied as follows:

  • Year one – applied to the $75,000
    • The $75,000 will be recorded in account 55048 and the F&A rate will be applied to the entire $75,000
  • Year two and year three – applied to $75,000 for each year
    • The first $75,000 will be recorded in account 55048 and the F&A rate will be applied to the entire $75,000
    • The remaining balance (in this example $25,000 in year two and $75,000 in year three) will be recorded in account 57819 and the F&A rate will not be applied in accordance with the NIH requirements

Questions regarding the application of the F&A rate to genomic arrays expenses should be directed to the CGA Help Desk at 510-643-4246 or cgahelp@berkeley.edu