Expenditures

rates and other travel information. Rates should be reduced proportionately for visits longer than one month in one locale, when it should be possible to make more economical arrangements. Explanation of long-term arrangements must be included in the budget justification section.

Not allowed:

• Travel to sabbatical and single semester leave sites from Minnesota and return. Travel and per-diem expenses for single-semester leave and sabbatical sites to another site (“side trips”) for strictly research purposes may be considered.
• Travel expenses associated with professional meetings, conferences, and short courses
• Fees and expenses associated with conferences

Equipment or Rents & Leases

Allowed:

• Minor or major equipment, including computer equipment, if specifically needed for the purpose of the proposed project. (Note: It is expected that departments or other University resources (such as Office of Information Technology and Minnesota Supercomputing Institute) will provide computer support.)
• The justification for a computer request must include the following: 1) Specify the special features of the computer that are necessary and integral for supporting the project. 2) Explain why other University computing resources (e.g. MSI, departmental computers) cannot meet the needs of the project. 3) Explain what will be done with the computer when the research is finished.
• Shared equipment requests must include a 30–50 percent match. Non/shared equipment requests of capital equipment (equal to or greater than $5,000) should also include matching funds, typically 30–50 percent.

Not allowed:

• Laptop computers, when these can be borrowed from the college or rented from University Computer Services
• Computers to be used for general word processing purposes or when any other departmental computer could be used
• Small, general-purpose items
• Furniture
• Maintenance contracts
• Charges to connect to a network