Matching Funds & Cost Sharing
- Cost sharing is defined as an explicit arrangement under which the university/applicant bears some of the burden of the allowed project costs.
- In-kind contributions are non-cash contributions provided by the contractor/grantee/ subcontractor. Contributions may be in the form of personal property, real property, or services. Services often include faculty release time.
- Matching grants are grants that requires a specified portion of the cost of a supported item of equipment or project to be obtained from other sources. The required match may be more or less than the amount of the grant. Matching grants are common in the sciences, especially for equipment. They are standard practice in some government agencies.
Externally funded programs often require a financial contribution from the proposing institution. The amount and form of this contribution varies by agency and program.
Contributions from the institution may come from the departmental, college or institutional level and require careful communication and planning in the development of proposals. University guidelines require that all proposals which request matching funds from the University must indicate the source of the match. At Old Dominion University, the Proposal Transmittal Form and Instruction Sheet is the official vehicle for obtaining and documenting this authorization. The Vice President for Research is the signatory authority for institutional cost sharing commitments.
The department chair and dean play this role for commitments from the department and college, respectively. These individuals appoint secondary authority to sign when they are not available. Be sure to plan ahead for the time and logistics that are necessary to obtain these signatures during your submission process.