First, overheads are added to the grant (e.g. 44% for the Independent Research Fund Denmark). Next, 10% of the total grant (grant + overheads) is deducted as project fee. The remaining overheads are then distributed with 25% allocated to the researcher’s free funds account and 75% allocated to the department. In this way, the researcher will ultimately receive both the grant and a portion of the overheads.
At the start of the project, the free funds (overhead funds) are calculated and distributed between the department and the project owner according to the guidelines below. The project owner’s free funds are deposited in the researcher’s own annual grant account at SDU in accordance with the approved budget. The project funds are placed in a project account. The funds must be used in accordance with SDU’s current guidelines and administrative practices.
Calculation example:
Grant: DKK 3,000,000
Overhead 44%: DKK 1,320,000
Grant incl. overhead: DKK 4,320,000
Project fee (10% of grant incl. overhead): DKK -432,000
Remaining overhead (DKK 1,320,000 - 432,000): DKK 888,000
Share of the remaining overhead for the researcher (25% of DKK 888,000): DKK 222,000
Share of the remaining overhead for the department (75% of DKK 888,000): DKK 666,000
Total grant for researcher (DKK 3,000,000 + 222,000): DKK 3,222,000
Overall, the researcher will thus receive a supplement of 7.4% (DKK 220,000 out of DKK 3,000,000) as free research funds in addition to the original grant when a grant with 44% overheads is placed at the University of Southern Denmark.
For projects in which overheads cannot be applied for or in which the overheads do not amount to 10% of the total grant, efforts must instead be made to procure 10% of the total grant to cover the project fee. This can be done, for example, by assigning a portion of the salary of the department’s project economists or research support staff to the project.