Budget calculation

A plausible and realistic calculation of the expenses required to carry out the project and the resources used is one of the key quality features of a research proposal.

Budget calculation is an important decision criterion for selection by the funding agency.

Even though research - especially basic research - can seldom be planned completely, it is important to have a realistic planning of expenditures as the best prerequisite for avoiding funding gaps during the course of the project.

For multi-stage application procedures, the rough financial planning in the first draft application should also be well calculated. It is usually not possible to significantly increase the amount of money in the full application.

When preparing the budget plan, different requirements must be observed depending on the funding agency / project management agency. In addition, various legal and internal university regulations apply (e.g. regarding overhead or internal services).

As a rule, only the additional expenditures required can be applied for in publicly funded projects (in contrast, for example, to the full cost calculation for contract research.
In principle, a distinction is made between three types of expenditure:

  • Personnel resources (for additional staff)
  • Material resources (e.g., for consumables, travel funds)
  • Investment funds

We are very happy to advise you at an early stage in the preparation of budget calculations and coordinate specific issues directly with the project management agencies for you.

In any case, we recommend that you submit the completed cost calculation to us for review before submitting the application. Please allow 2-3 business days for this.

Here you can find important informationthat could be relevant for your project calculation :