This paper seeks to help biostatisticians develop realistic budgets for their involvement in research projects. The approach is to list categories of expenses and associated questions about the types and levels of projected costs that the budget planner needs to consider. I subdivide the expense categories into smaller subcomponents that should provide for better planning. I also propose an algorithm for determining hourly rates.
Introduction
Biostatisticians frequently collaborate in the preparation of grant applications that require statistical support. Development of an appropriate biostatistics budget is essential to insure the availability of appropriate resources for the duration of the project.
Several authors have discussed the practice of statistical consulting (Boen and Zahn,' Zahn and Isenberg,' Moses and L o u ~s , ~ Carter et a1. : Ellenberg,' Kirk,6 Arndt and Woolson,' Lesser and Parker*), but there has been scant attention paid to the process of estimating a budget, particularly as it applies to NIH or similar grant applications. Although the budget categories for grant applications are generally subdivided into several components, these components are rather broad categories that include, but are not limited to, personnel, equipment, supplies, travel and miscellaneous expenses.
In this paper, I provide a further breakdown of these categories into smaller subcomponents, which may help to plan better for the required statistical resources. I present these subcomponents in the form of questions that the individual responsible for determining the budget should ask. Additionally, I discuss practical problems associated with the budgeting process. Finally, I present a method to calculate hourly rates for use in projects budgeted as person-hours, rather than percent effort.
BUDGET COMPONENTS
Personnel
Personnel costs usually account for the largest proportion of a statistics budget. In most grant applications that entail substantial involvement of a statistician, personnel costs are budgeted as a function of 'percent effort'.