Participant Support Costs

If a grant supports a conference, meeting, workshop, seminar, symposium, or training program, then the direct costs associated with an individual’s participation in these activities may be allowed under the sponsoring agency’s program guidelines as participant support costs.

Participant Support may be provided in the form of a stipend, travel reimbursement or other reimbursement.

Participant Support is not:

• Honoraria paid to a guest speaker or lecturer.

• Payments made to research subjects as an incentive for recruitment and participation in a research project

• Conference support costs such as facility rentals, media equipment rentals, or conference food.

• Reimbursements to employers (e.g., public school system) for costs related to sending its employees to a conference or workshop.

  • Costs of PSU project staff to travel to a conference

• Costs of bringing collaborators together in one location to work on a project,

• Costs of the PI to attend a seminar

• Payments to individuals providing a service for the project

Participant: A participant is defined as a non-Portland State University employee who is the recipient, not the provider, of a service or training associated with a workshop, conference, seminar, symposium,or other short-term instructional or information sharing activity.

Participants are not required to provide any deliverable to the university and they are not subject to Portland State University Human Resources policies (e.g., they cannot be terminated for failure to perform). Participants may include students, scholars, and scientists from other institutions, representatives of private sector companies, teachers, and state or local government agency personnel.

Types of Participant Support Payments

Stipend: A stipend is a set amount of money to be paid directly to the participant for their attendance at or participation in the program. Stipends are paid to individuals to help defray the costs of personal maintenance while participating in a conference or training activity. Participants may be paid a stipend, based on the type and duration of the activity, as outlined in the pertinent sponsored program announcement or sponsoring agency policy.

A stipend can also be used to provide a subsistence allowance, such as the cost of a participant’s housing and per diem board expenses necessary for the individual to participate in the project. These costs are generally allowed, provided they are reasonable and limited to the days of attendance. Although they may participate in meals and snacks provided at the meeting or conference, participants who live in the local area are not entitled to subsistence payments.

If the participant support payments are made as a stipend or allowance (e.g. without receipts), the university will report participant support cost payments to the individual on IRS Form 1099-Misc at the end of each year according to university policy.

Scholarships: A sponsor may also allow the costs of any Portland State University tuition and fee charges that are required to be paid for the individual to participate in the training project.

Participant Travel Reimbursement: Costs of participants in research of instructional training programs may be allowable as outlined in the pertinent program announcement/sponsoring agency policy, the award document, and PSU policy. For participant expense reimbursements, the participant should retain original receipts and submit only copies with a travel or personal reimbursement request in accordance with standard PSU policy and procedures.

Travel includes the costs of transportation and associated costs and must follow sponsor guidelines (e.g., U.S. flag carrier, coach class, most direct route) as well as Portland State University policies and guidelines. The sole purpose of the trip must be to participate in the project activity. If a training activity involves field trips, the costs of transportation of participants may be allowable

Reimbursement of Participant Expenses:. The fees paid by a participant in connection with meetings, conferences, symposia, or training projects are generally allowable costs. These fees may include laboratory fees, passport or visa fees for foreign participants, and registration fees. Certain other costs borne by the participant may be allowable, including training materials, laboratory supplies, and insurance.

Restrictions on Participant Support Payments

All costs that are reimbursed to or paid on behalf of participants must be incurred within the project period and specifically allowed by the sponsoring agency.

Students and project staff members who are participating in a grant-funded training program and who are receiving compensation directly or indirectly from the grant typically cannot also be reimbursed for participant support costs.

Participant support costs are budgeted in a separate line and must be accounted for separately using PSU account codes. Funds provided for participant support costs that are not spent cannot be rebudgeted for use in other categories except with the prior written approval of the sponsor. In most cases, unspent participant support costs must be returned to the sponsor. Participant support costs do not include the following types of payments:

Some sponsoring agencies exclude participant support costs from application the F&A rate. This restriction will be expressed stated in the Program Announcements and/or agency policy.

Accounting for Participant Support Costs

When the proposal is developed for a sponsored program that includes the payment of participant support costs, those costs must be itemized in a separate budget line. A number of grant programs funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Education allow budgeting for these costs and include a separate category on their proposal budget forms for these costs.

The Banner FIS award budget will include separately budget participant support costs by account codes (Stipends - 55102, Tuition - 55104, Travel - 55105, Misc - 55110). Expenditures made against this budget category will be identified as participant support costs in the financial reports provided to the sponsor.

Procedure for Processing Participant Support Payments - New Guidance documents and revised forms are currently under development

Current Forms:

Participant Support Form - Stipends

Participant Support Forms - Tuition

If the participant support payments are made as a stipend or allowance (e.g. without receipts), the university will report participant support cost payments to the individual on IRS Form 1099-Misc at the end of each year according to university policy