[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR37.520]

[Page 211]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
              CHAPTER I--OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
 
PART 37_TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS--Table of Contents
 
                 Subpart E_Pre-Award Business Evaluation
 
Sec.  37.520  What is my responsibility for determining that the total project funding is reasonable?

    In cooperation with the program official, you must assess the 
reasonableness of the total estimated budget to perform the research 
that will be supported by the agreement. Additional guidance follows 
for:
    (a) Labor. Much of the budget likely will involve direct labor and 
associated indirect costs, which may be represented together as a 
``loaded'' labor rate. The program official is an essential advisor on 
reasonableness of the overall level of effort and its composition by 
labor category. You also may rely on your experience with other awards 
as the basis for determining reasonableness. If you have any unresolved 
questions, two of the ways that you might find helpful in establishing 
reasonableness are to:
    (1) Consult the administrative agreements officers or auditors 
identified in Sec.  37.505.
    (2) Compare loaded labor rates of for-profit firms that do not have 
expenditure-based Federal procurement contracts or assistance awards 
with a standard or average for the particular industry. Note that the 
program official may have knowledge about customary levels of direct 
labor charges in the particular industry that is involved. You may be 
able to compare associated indirect charges with Government-approved 
indirect cost rates that exist for many nonprofit and for-profit 
organizations that have Federal procurement contracts or assistance 
awards (note the requirement in Sec.  37.630 for a for-profit 
participant to use Federally approved provisional indirect cost rates, 
if it has them).
    (b) Real property and equipment. In almost all cases, the project 
costs may include only depreciation or use charges for real property and 
equipment of for-profit participants, in accordance with Sec.  37.685. 
Remember that the budget for an expenditure-based TIA may not include 
depreciation of a participant's property as a direct cost of the project 
if that participant's practice is to charge the depreciation of that 
type of property as an indirect cost, as many organizations do.

                              Cost Sharing