Effort is not based on a 40-hour workweek.
Effort commitments presented to a sponsor may be funded or unfunded. (When unfunded, the commitment is a mandatory or voluntary cost-share commitment.)
Regardless of the individual’s appointment percentage or the number of hours worked, their 100% effort equals all the activities for which they are compensated by the university – i.e., their total NIU effort.
- If they have a quarter-time job, their 100% effort corresponds to everything they do for that job. So, for this person, 0.25 FTE = 100% NIU effort.
- If they work 60 hours a week, their 100% effort corresponds to all the activities for which NIU compensates them during that time. Here, 60 hours = 100% NIU effort.
Effort is the time that an individual spends on an activity, expressed as a percentage of all their time spent on NIU job duties. NIU duties may include:
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- Instruction
- Administration
- Research
- Service as a member of a committee or governance body
- Outreach to the community
For every individual, whether full-time or part-time, whether they work 40 hours a week or 60 hours a week, the total of their effort must equal 100%.
Think of your effort report as a pie that equals your total NIU activity, with each ‘slice’ representing the distribution of university activities as shown below. For your effort on grants, think about the effort as an approximation of value to each specific project.
Effort reporting is not an exact science. The federal government recognizes that instruction, administration, research, and service are often inextricably intermixed. Reasonable estimates are expected.