College of Earth and Mineral Sciences | Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Education & Research (ADGER)
This guidance outlines the procedures for identifying, documenting, and managing mandatory cost sharing on externally sponsored research within the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. It supplements—without superseding—University policies and procedures, ensuring compliance and audit readiness across the lifecycle of a proposal and award.
Cost share (or matching) refers to the portion of project costs not covered by the sponsor and contributed by Penn State or third parties. Types include Mandatory (required by the sponsor), Voluntary Committed (offered in the proposal and becomes binding), and Voluntary Uncommitted (additional effort not quantified in the proposal and typically tracked locally).
Mandatory cost share demonstrates institutional commitment, satisfies sponsor requirements, and carries compliance, reporting, and audit implications. Incorrectly offered or undocumented cost share can create financial risk and administrative burden.
Cost share must consist of allowable, allocable, and reasonable project costs that directly support the proposed scope of work and are verifiable in Penn State’s financial system. Cost share may be provided through a combination of internal and third-party resources, subject to sponsor and institutional requirements.
The following types of project costs may be used as cost share, when otherwise allowable under sponsor and University policy:
The following funding sources may be used to support allowable cost-shared expenses:
The following may not be used as cost share unless explicitly authorized by the sponsor:
Pre-award research coordinators are responsible for securing approvals at the proposal stage (as required by department/OSP) and using the Cost Share Commitment Form. Third-party contributions must be documented via a Third-Party Cost Share Commitment Letter and a subsequent Confirmation. Ensure valuation methodology for in-kind contributions is documented and auditable. All cost share must be verifiable within Penn State’s financial system.
Budget development is iterative. The PI and pre-award research coordinator collaborate to refine the scope of work, budget, and cost share. Identify sources early: departmental support tied to personnel, graduate support (department, ADGER, central), and equipment (department, central).
PIs and Co-Is are expected to engage the appropriate administrator (Dept. Head, ADGER, Dean, etc.) as early as practicable. Cost-share requests should be initiated with sufficient lead time (>2 weeks) to allow time for review and approval. Requests made at or after the internal proposal deadline (five business days before sponsor submission) limit thoughtful evaluation and place undue pressure on contributing units. While expedited reviews may occasionally be necessary due to late sponsor clarifications or other exceptional circumstances, they should be the exception rather than the norm.
Cost-share requests should be accompanied by sufficient context to allow contributing units to understand key elements of the request and facilitate a timely and meaningful review. Pre-award research coordinators may use the following template for cost-share requests.
Subject: Cost-Share Request — [Project Title], [Sponsor], due [Due Date]
| Total Project Budget | $[Total Costs] (Sponsor + Cost Share) |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Cost-Share Requirement | Mandatory cost share of [amount or %]. [Sponsor language excerpt — optional] |
| Total Cost Share Needed | $[Total required cost share] |
| Your Unit’s Requested Contribution | $[Total amount], with the following breakdown (as applicable):
|
| Timeframe | [Year(s) or project duration] |
| Other Contributors (if applicable) | List other committed or pending cost-share sources, with brief details, and indicate whether commitments are confirmed or pending |
| Reason for Request | [1–2 sentence justification tied to sponsor requirement and proportionality] |
At the award stage, cost share commitments are established in SIMS/SIMBA. For mandatory and voluntary committed cost share, 52 Internal Orders (IOs) are requested at account setup. Proposed cost share budgets (except for F&A, which is manually calculated) are uploaded to SIMBA and shared with departments/PIs. Each subunit should work with the Strategic Finance Partner (FPAC Team) to fund each cost share account in FM (Funds Management) annually, as long as the cost share account remains active. The Research Office provides cost-share details for Research Accounting (monthly/quarterly, depending on invoicing) for sponsor invoices. Voluntary uncommitted cost share is tracked by departments, which often use 80 or 15 IOs on the FM side. Submit final reports to sponsors when required.
Approved: EMS Executive Council, February 24, 2026
