July 9, 2012
This plan has been developed in accordance with CFI policies and documents that require institutions to develop a plan for the provision and administration of operating and maintenance support for CFI supported infrastructure. Operating and maintenance support is expected to be provided for the useful life of the infrastructure and does not include costs related to research or technology development.
Recognizing that efficient and effective maintenance and operation of research infrastructure is integral to Queen’s success as a research intensive university, the University is committed to ensuring viable infrastructure is available and ready for research use, while being mindful of available resources.
A number of sources of support for operations and maintenance of infrastructure are available.
Normally, Queen’s will continue to cover space related costs including basic power, heat, and security and custodial services, as well as centralized services such as insurance, capital planning, basic information technology services and environmental health and safety services (see Note 1).
In addition to the use of CFI Infrastructure Operating Funds (IOF), researchers, Departments, Faculties, Centres and Institutes may also provide support for the operations and maintenance of research infrastructure, typically related to technical and administrative activities. These supports are funded by a variety of mechanisms including but not necessarily limited to user fees, budget allocations, Federal Indirect Costs of Research, and other indirect costs that accrue to the University, and CFI Infrastructure Operating Funds (IOF).
A budget that includes anticipated operating costs and revenues will be developed for each CFI project, and approved by the Department/Unit Head and Dean prior to submission of the application.
To assist with the operations and maintenance costs of CFI funded infrastructure, Project Leaders are currently allocated 100% of the IOF generated by their successful projects, provided a realistic spending plan is submitted and approved by the Office of the VP(Research), Department/Unit Head and Dean. Recognizing that different projects have different support needs, beginning with applications submitted October 2012, Project Leaders will be allocated 50% (see Notes 2 and 3) of the IOF generated by the project, with approval from the Office of the VP(Research), Department/Unit Head and Dean. Unallocated and unused IOF will be pooled and distributed to eligible projects as approved by the Dean, upon review and approval of written requests that substantiate the need for additional funds.
Extraordinary needs will be considered by the VP(Research) at the request of the Dean.
This plan will be reviewed every two years or more often, as required by CFI.
Notes:
Note 1
Extraordinary costs for any project (e.g. power for high performance computing facilities) may not be covered fully from central funds.
Note 2
A policy will be developed for sharing Infrastructure Operating Funds with infrastructure-hosting hospitals for projects submitted to CFI October 2012 or later. For these projects, allocation of IOF for hospital-based infrastructure will be negotiated on a case by case basis until a policy is developed and approved.
Note 3
The percentage of IOF allocated to the Project Leader is changing from 100% to 50% to better accommodate the differing needs of different projects and to provide a potential source of support for unexpected and/or extraordinary expenses attributable to any IOF-eligible CFI project. The University will therefore be better able to manage the entire portfolio of IOF-eligible infrastructure projects and help ensure they are maintained in a state of readiness for research. Project Leaders of all IOF-eligible projects will have the opportunity to request additional funding if and as the need arises.