Other Direct Costs
Other direct costs that may appear as line items in a project budget:
Materials and supplies
This category includes freestanding equipment with a value up to $5,000 and consumable items such as chemicals, laboratory-ware and small component parts (if not part of an equipment fabrication). Office supplies are considered to be part of the indirect costs of conducting a project and generally should not be charged as a direct cost to a federal award.
Publication costs
Publication costs are typically represented as the cost-per-page charges for journal articles.
Equipment maintenance contracts
Maintenance of equipment directly related to the project (and in proportion to the project’s use of the equipment) should be listed. Note that indirect charges are applied to these service contracts.
Departmental fees for equipment usage
When these costs are identified in the budget. the following information should be provided: Facilities to be used, type of instrument, the hourly cost and the estimated number of hours needed. Note that fees charged should be based on the published rates of an approved service center. For a list of approved service centers, please visit the Service Center