What This Does
Support the formulation of budget plans for research funding applications and check the validity of existing budget proposals. Confirm the accuracy of expense category classification, the validity of amounts, and compliance with aggregation rules, and support the creation of budget proposals that are less likely to be reduced during review.
Required Inputs
- Funding Program Type: KAKENHI (Kiban A/B/C, Wakate, etc.), JST programs, others
- Research Period: How many years
- Requested Amount(Optional): If there is a total amount cap
- Overview of the Research Plan: What kinds of experiments, surveys, and equipment are necessary
- Existing Budget Proposal(Optional): If checking, the existing budget table
What It Produces
- Budget Proposal(For new formulation)
- Budget table by expense category and fiscal year
- Basis for calculation of each expense category
- Check Results(For review of an existing budget)
- Correctness of expense category classification
- Validity of amounts (comparison with market rates)
- Pointing out rule violations
- Improvement Suggestions
- Proposed reassignment of expense categories
- Improvement of how the calculation basis is written
- Ways to avoid points that are likely to be pointed out in review
Procedure
1. Confirming the budget rules of the funding program
Confirm the budget rules according to the target funding program type.
Main expense categories of KAKENHI:
| Expense Category | Content | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment and Supplies | Equipment and fixtures (500,000 yen or more), consumables | Equipment and fixtures only when the unit price is 500,000 yen or more |
| Travel Expenses | Domestic travel expenses, overseas travel expenses | Clearly state the purpose, such as conference participation or visits to collaborative research partners |
| Personnel and Honoraria | Research assistants, participant honoraria, etc. | Calculation by unit price × number of people × period is required |
| Other | Printing costs, communication costs, conference participation fees, paper submission fees, etc. | Items not falling under the above |
Indirect costs:
- KAKENHI: 30% of direct costs (automatically calculated; only direct costs are stated in the application form)
- JST programs: Varies by program (10-30%)
2. Formulation of a budget proposal (for new cases)
Identify the necessary expenses from the research plan:
2a. Calculation of equipment and supplies costs
- Equipment and Fixtures: Equipment with a unit price of 500,000 yen or more. State the manufacturer, model number, and estimated amount
- Consumables: Reagents, parts, laboratory animals, etc. Calculate by unit price × quantity
- Software: License fees
2b. Calculation of travel expenses
- Domestic Travel Expenses: Conference participation (number of times × unit price), visits to collaborative research partners, survey travel expenses
- Overseas Travel Expenses: International conference participation, overseas research (travel destination, number of days, and per diem calculated cumulatively)
- Use unit prices based on the travel expense regulations of the affiliated institution
2c. Calculation of personnel costs and honoraria
- Research assistant: Hourly wage × hours × period
- Participant honoraria: Honorarium per session × number of people
- Translation and proofreading costs: English proofreading, etc.
2d. Calculation of other expenses
- Conference participation fees, paper submission fees (APC), printing costs, etc.
3. Annual allocation of the budget
- First year: Equipment purchases tend to be concentrated → it is natural for the amount to be larger
- Intermediate years: Mainly consumables and travel expenses
- Final year: Result presentations (travel expenses and paper submission fees) increase
- Note: Differences in amounts between years should not be too extreme (an explanation of the reason is necessary)
4. Validity check
Check from the following perspectives:
4a. Accuracy of expense category classification
- Are consumables not being recorded as equipment and fixtures (or vice versa)?
- Are items that should go under "Other" not being placed in another expense category?
4b. Validity of amounts
- Are they not significantly deviating from market prices?
- Are the quantities consistent with the research plan?
- Do the travel per diem and accommodation expenses comply with the institution's regulations?
4c. Combining rules
- Combined use of KAKENHI grants: Multiple KAKENHI grants cannot be combined and used for the same item
- KAKENHI and other funding: Combined use is in principle not allowed (some exceptions apply)
- Effort management: Is the applicant's effort not exceeding 100%?
4d. Usage rules
- Items that cannot be purchased with KAKENHI (buildings, land, the researcher's own personnel costs, etc.)
- Handling of expenditures spanning fiscal years (necessity of carryover procedures)
5. Support for describing the basis of calculation
Support how to write a basis of calculation that reviewers will find convincing:
【良い例】
・試薬A（○○社、Cat#XXX）: 50,000円 × 12本 = 600,000円
→ 実験1回あたり1本使用、月1回の実験を年12回実施
【悪い例】
・消耗品一式: 600,000円
Quality standards
- Expense category classification must accurately comply with the call guidelines
- The basis for calculating amounts must be concrete (avoid "lump sum")
- Judgments regarding combining rules and usage rules must be accurate
- The annual allocation must be consistent with the schedule of the research plan
- If anything is unclear, state explicitly that "confirmation with the affiliated institution's administrative office is necessary"
- Since indirect cost rates differ by institution, encourage confirmation
Available Tools
- Read: Reading the draft budget file and the call guidelines
- WebSearch / WebFetch: Budget rules of the call, confirmation of market prices for items
- Write: Output of the draft budget
- Bash: Amount calculations, table formatting