If you are a Co-PI

A colleague from another department/college at UA has asked you to be a Co-PI on a research project in your field. The project fits well with your interests, and you agree to be a Co-PI on the proposed project. What are the steps you need to take to ensure that serving as Co-PI is ultimately more of a benefit than a risk for you and your department?

  1. Inform your department chair about the project.
  2. Let Sara Chavarria, Assistant Dean, Research Development & Outreach know about the project.

Sara can help you determine, based on your percent time on the project, what is an appropriate F & A split between you and your fellow Co-PIs on the project. “F & A” (Facilities & Administration) is also called “indirect costs.” F & A on research grants can range from 0% to 53.5% of the total direct costs in the budget.

For your department, it’s vital that you receive enough F & A on a given project to support the overhead costs associated with your involvement as Co-PI. The department will typically incur certain costs associated with your research project, such as the cost to maintain office space or the cost of hiring a graduate student or other staff to assist on the project.  If your F & A split is less than your percent effort on a project, the project may represent a net loss to the department rather than a net gain or simply breaking even. Here is a breakdown of how F & A revenue is distributed:

  • 75% goes to the UA 
  • Remaining 25% goes to College of Education
  • 5% held for the PI (or Co-PI, in this case)
  • Remaining 20% is split as follows:
    • 40% to your department
    • 60% to Dean’s Office

Sara will also inform the rest of the Research Support Team about your project so that they can also support you as needed.