In order to minimize the administrative burden associated with revised budget requests, most sponsors allow an award recipient flexibility to adapt their award spending patterns to match the changing circumstances of the sponsored project. 

In general, a formal revised budget approval request to the sponsor will occur in the following circumstances:

• If there are budget revision restrictions imposed in the terms and conditions of the award agreement. These restrictions may range from a prior approval requirement for any budget revisions to a prior approval requirement for line-item or total budget revisions up to a certain threshold. (i.e.: rebudget flexibility up to 10% of proposed line items, with changes greater than that requiring sponsor approval)

• If the budget revisions are due to a significant change in the scope of work that will require a considerable amount of funds to be shifted between expense categories. This does not happen often, as most sponsors provide a recipient financial discretion to move funding between budget categories, realizing that a certain re-budgeting may be necessary to accomplish the goals of the project. However, any rebudgeting based on a change in the scope of work must be submitted and approved by the sponsor.

Other circumstances that may warrant a revision to the proposed budget, but not necessarily a formal revised budget submission to the sponsor:

• Budget revisions to reflect the financial realities of the project: salary increases, new employees on the project, adjusted fringe benefit rates, etc. In general, these types of budget revisions do not require sponsor approval.

Please contact your Post Award Team for questions about rebudgeting, and for assistance with submitting requests to the sponsor.