F&A Report

University Facilities and Administration (F&A) Explained – What is it and How is it Used?

Advancing knowledge through creative activity, research and scholarship (defined broadly as research) is an important mission in WSU’s strategic plan. WSU faculty, staff, and students embrace this mission in a myriad of ways – one way is through the submission of grant proposals to external sponsors to fund their research activities. These projects allow our researchers to have significant impact in our region, state, nation, and world. Engaging in a sponsored project is a partnership among:

  • The researchers performing the work,
  • The Sponsor (federal or non-federal) funding the work, and
  • The University providing the research infrastructure (e.g., physical space, research-related operational activities) to do the work
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University research infrastructure may include construction and maintenance of sophisticated labs designed for cutting-edge research; utilities such as light and heat; telecommunications; hazardous waste disposal; and the operational infrastructure necessary to comply with numerous rules and regulations. These facilities and administrative (F&A) costs are paid by the University initially, but Sponsors then partner with the University and researcher, as most are committed to sharing these costs, by partially reimbursing WSU for this infrastructure. The mechanism for reimbursement is a negotiated F&A rate between the federal government and the University to ensure appropriate costs. WSU’s current federal rates are listed on the Sponsored Program Services website here: https://sps.wsu.edu/fa-documents/.

These reimbursed F&A costs become revenue to the University and are managed by WSU’s Policy for Allocating Facilities and Administrative Cost Recovery Funds (Executive Policy #2) which provides background on F&A, oversight, goals for transparency, allocation, etc.

How WSU’s F&A is split (see current Executive Policy #2):

Other F&A Reports and Resources:

WSU: July 2018 F&A Committee Charter

WSU: Historical F&A Allocation Information (FY17-21) – Requires WSU Network ID and Password

WSU: Campus F&A Allocation Information (FY17-21) – Requires WSU Network ID and Password

WSU: Special F&A Allocations by Area (FY21) – Requires WSU Network ID and Password

WSU: Instructions for F&A Allocation and Expenditure Reporting in Workday – Requires WSU Network ID and Password

COGR: Cost of Research Infographic

COGR: F&A One Pager

COGR: Comparing Foundations to Federal Government Research Support