Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine 10 (2019) 139e142

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine

journal homepage: http://elsevier.com/locate/jaim

Review Article

How to plan and write a budget for research grant proposal?

Satish G. Patil
Department of Physiology, Sri B. M. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, BLDE University, Bijapur, Karnataka, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Medical research can have an enormous positive impact on human health. Health research improves the
Received 8 March 2017 quality of human lives and society which plays a vital role in social and economic development of the
Received in revised form nation. Financial support is crucial for research. However, winning a research grant is a difficult task. A
4 August 2017
successful grant-winning application requires two key elements: one is an innovative research problem
Accepted 21 August 2017
Available online 28 October 2017
with best probable idea/plan for tackling it and appropriate planning of budget. The aim of the present
paper is to give an insight on funding agencies providing funding for health research including traditional
Indian medicine (from an Indian perspective) and key points for planning and writing budget section of a
Keywords:
Research grant
grant application.
Grant writing © 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Publishing Services by
Planning budget Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction form of total number of research documents, citations per docu-

ments and h-index [5]. About 95% of the NIH (National Institutes of
Why health science research is important and why should it to Health, USA), budget goes directly to research awards, programs,
be funded? Science and technology innovations and health and centers; training programs; and research and development
research can have an enormous impact on human health. They contracts [6]. Total expenditure carried out for research in India is
improve public health, quality of human lives, longevity and have too less than USA and China. Percentage of GDP for research and
made society better [1,2]. Healthy humans with better quality of life development in India is 0.88%, while South Korea, USA and China
are crucial for the social and economical development of the nation have 4.292%, 2.742 and 2.1% respectively [7].
[3]. Medical research led to the expansion of knowledge about Owing to the increasing competition among the researchers,
health problems/conditions and their mechanism, risk factors, especially the young ones, for their academic growth, preparing
outcomes of treatments or interventions, preventive measures and and planning a winning research proposal becomes very essential.
proper management. Clinical studies or trials provide important A successful grant-winning application requires two key elements:
information about the safety and efficacy of a drug/intervention. (1) innovative research problem with best probable idea/plan for
Innovative basic science research had led to the discovery of new tackling it and (2) appropriate planning of budget. The aim of the
technology, efficient diagnostic and therapeutic devices. So, present paper is to give an insight on funding agencies (from an
currently, an effort with multidisciplinary approach is a demand for Indian perspective) and key points for planning and writing budget
better understanding of clinical conditions and providing safest section of a grant application.
health care to the community [2,4].
Whether it is basic or applied, clinical or non-clinical, all
research needs financial support. Considering the importance of 2. What is the purpose of the budget plan in a grant
research in economic growth of a nation, many countries are application?
increasing their budget for research and development in science. A
study on impact of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on research and A budget is the quantitative expression of a financial plan for
development in science among Asian countries has found that one future expenses on the project in a given period of time [8]. Budget
who spends more on research has more research outcomes in the plan is a key element of a grant application. It demonstrates the
required cost for the proposed project. It is a prediction of expenses
and serves a plan for funders on how the organization will operate
E-mail: sathupatil@yahoo.co.in. the project, spend the money in a given set of period and where
Peer review under responsibility of Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore. their money will go. It shows the funders exactly what they can

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2017.08.005
0975-9476/© 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Publishing Services by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
140 S.G. Patil / Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine 10 (2019) 139e142

support and also helps the institution and investigating team in supporting staff respectively. There is a provision for salaries of
management of the project. Moreover, budget plan requires for investigators in Wellcome trust-DBT India alliance grants [13].
accountability [9].
4.1.2. Recurring expenses:
3. Which are the funding agencies that sponsor health Recurring expenses are those which are variable and which keep
research in India? on occurring throughout the entire project duration. Particulars
categorized in this category are consumables, chemicals, glass-
Various national and international sponsoring agencies have wares, laboratory test charges, diagnostic kits, stationery, prints,
identified health problems of priority for funding a research. Some photocopies, communication, postage, telephone charges, survey
of the leading funding agencies providing grant for health research tools, questionnaires, publication charges, reprints, binding etc.
including alternative systems of medicine in India are given in Other expenses could be allowances for patients/participants, food
Table 1. State Universities/deemed Universities also have a provi- charges and physician fees.
sion of funding for medical research.
4.1.3. Non-recurring expenses:
4. What constitutes a research project budget? Non-recurring expenses are those which are one-time in nature
or which do not recur at regular intervals. Particulars included in
Proforma of the research grant applications and presentation of this category are equipments or instruments with its accessories,
budget section may vary among the sponsoring agencies. However, software's, computer, printer, electrical and electronic items and
major parts of budget plan in the applications of the above accessories of the existing instrument in your lab. Percentage of
mentioned funding agencies are quite similar. The budget section is budget allocated for equipment varies among the funding agencies
broadly divided into two categories: direct and indirect costs. from 25% to 90% of the entire budget. Some of the agencies do not
have provision for equipment in budget. Vision Group on Science
4.1. Direct costs: and Technology allocated their maximum grant (up to 90%) for
development of infrastructure of laboratories [14].
These are the costs incurred specifically to carry out a project
[10]. Direct costs include expenses towards personnel, materials, 4.1.4. Traveling expenses:
equipments, consumables and travel. These particulars are further Budget allocated for traveling can be used for attending meet-
categorized into recurring and non-recurring expenses on the basis ings, conferences, workshops and training programs. Foreign travel
of their occurrence during the study period. A brief description of is not allowed by any Indian funding agency. Traveling expenses for
the sub-sections under direct cost is given below: collection of data, survey and visit to other centers in multicentric
study can be budgeted in this sub-section.
4.1.1. Personnel:
Budget for personnel can be mentioned in this section in case 4.2. Indirect costs:
human resources are required for the study and as per funding
agency guidelines. Salaries with allowances can be budgeted for These are the costs which cannot be directly attributed to spe-
human resources such as site manager, research assistant, junior cific expenses of a project, but are required to run a project. It is also
research fellow (JRF), senior research fellow (SRF), research asso- termed as overhead charges. Laboratory, electricity, water, library
ciate, technician, data entry operator and attender. Most of the and other facilities are provided by the institution to run a proposed
Indian funding agencies do not have a provision for salaries for the research project. Therefore, a fixed cost (usually) of about 5e15% of
principal investigator (PI) and co-investigators (Co-PI). Ministry of the total budget is provisioned as institutional overhead charges
AYUSH [11] and Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science (RGUHS), which goes to the institution directly. The range may, however, be
Karnataka [12] provide one-time minimal fees for investigators and flexible on the basis of the type of funding agency.

Table 1
List of funding agencies those promote health research.

Sl. no. Funding agencies Website

1. ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) www.icmr.nic.in

2. DHR (Department of Health Research), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare www.dhr.gov.in
3. Ministry of AYUSH (Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, www.ayush.gov.in
Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy)
4. Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy www.ccryn.org
5. Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences www.ccras.nic.in
6. Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine www.ccrum.ne
7. Central Council for Research in Siddha www.siddhacouncil.com
8. Central Council for Research in Homeopathy www.ccrhindia.org
9. DBT (Department of Biotechnology) www.dbtindia.nic.in
10. DST (Department of Science and Technology) www.dst.gov.in
11. Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation, Ministry of Science and Technology www.dst.gov.in/science-and-technology-yoga-and-meditation
12. SERC (Science and Engineering Research Council) www.serb.gov.in
13. CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) www.csir.res.in
14. UGC (University Grants Commission) www.ugc.ac.in
15. DAE (Department of Atomic Energy) dae.nic.in
16. DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization), Life sciences research board. www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/boards/lsrb/fplsrb.htm
17. VGST (Vision Group of Science and Technology, Karnataka) www.vgst.in
18. INSA (Indian National Science Academy) insaindia.res.in
19. Wellcome trust-DBT Alliance India www.wellcomedbt.org
 S.G. Patil / Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine 10 (2019) 139e142 141

Table 2
Sample budget summary (year wise).

Items Total 1st year 2nd year 3rd year Balance10% of the total

Salary (research fellow) 7,19,200 2,30,000 2,30,000 2,59,200

Equipment 6,40,000 6,40,000 e e
Books 15,000 15,000 e
Other non-recurring expenditure e e e
Recurring expenditure 9,95,000 3,92,000 5,87,000 16,000
TA/DA 90,000 30,000 30,000 30,000
Institutional support 97,260 e e 97,260
Fee of PI and CoI 90,000 e 90,000
Miscellaneous expenses 36,000 18,000 18,000
Total 26,82,460 13,25,000 8,65,000 4,92,460 2,68,246

5. Budget justification study, the source of the sample, study setting, sample design and
sample size, techniques used to collect data, method of data analysis
Most of the funding agencies require submission of a budget and available resources should be made [17].
justification with all the items described above. Sometimes it is also Secondly, the instructions, format of the application and rules of
called as budget narrative. Explanation of need for each line item in the funding agency should be read thoroughly. Budget specifica-
the budget with item-wise and year-wise breakdown has to be tions, limitations of recurring and non-recurring costs, and neces-
provided. Quantification of total costs of each line-item and docu- sity of budget justification with cost breakdown should be checked.
ment cost calculation should be done. When writing a budget Note that one should not deviate or modify the proforma of the
justification, it is important to follow the same order as that in an funding agency.
itemized budget. For example, if equipment such as color doppler is Thirdly, a list of items should be made and categorized into
required, then justify the need of a device with respect to the recurring and non-recurring expenses. Breakdown of the budget
proposed methodology of the study. Similarly, for non-recurring into item-wise and year-wise with cost calculation should be done.
expenses, breakdown the consumables item-wise and year-wise It should be ensured that costs are reasonable, allowable and
with its cost and calculation according to the protocol of the related to the research proposal, so that the budget appears real-
study and justify accordingly. istic. Travel expenses should be calculated as per the rules of the
funding agency.
6. Budget summary Fourthly, item-wise and year-wise justification of the require-
ment in a same sequence of format should be provided. A well-
An item-wise and year wise summary of the total budget is justified budget can enhance the evaluation of the research pro-
usually required in most of the applications. Budget summary out- posal by reviewers and funding body.
lines the proposed grant and often (most of the format) appears at The last most important part is to review the budget and verify
the beginning of the proposal. It should always be prepared at the the costs and calculation. It is better, if other research team mem-
end, after the grant proposal has been completely developed. A bers can review the budget plan and re-calculate the costs thor-
sample budget summary (as an example) for a proposed study for oughly. Remember, too high budget and too low budget with
the duration of three years is shown in Table 2. In the personnel respect to the research proposal are suspicious and chances of
section, a research fellow salary with allowances is budgeted year- receiving a grant are less.
wise. The salary of the research fellow for the first and second year
is Rs. 2,30,000 per year (JRF) with an enhancement to Rs 2, 59,000 for Sources of funding
the third year (SRF) as per the guidelines of the funding agency. As
non-recurring expenses are one time in nature, a budget for equip- None.
ment was budgeted only for the first year. Under the section of
recurring expenses, more budgets are allocated in the second year Conflict of interest
for consumables because recruitment of subjects in large number
will be done during the second year of the proposed study. Similarly, None.
expenses toward travel, investigator fee and other miscellaneous
costs year-wise have been budgeted. The emoluments and guide-
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