POLICY

A. Purpose

This policy provides guidance on the general management and administration of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (Berkeley Lab's) scientific and support Associate Laboratory Directorate (ALD) area burden costs.

B. Persons Affected

All Laboratory employees who manage ALD burdens

C. Exceptions

None

D. Policy Statement

1. ALD Area Burden Costs
   
   1. Accumulated in standardized indirect cost pools (ALD burden projects)
   2. Allocated to the benefiting cost objectives (projects) in an equitable and reasonable manner
2. Cost Pool Expense Types. ALD burden cost activities provide cross-divisional leadership to strengthen and grow research programs. In particular, the ALD helps to design, articulate, and develop each division's long- and short-term scientific/technical project and program goals. The ALD manages division directors, who are responsible for programmatic activities within their respective division. The ALD ensures adherence to appropriate policies and procedures and that programmatic and project operations are cost effective, efficient, and optimized within constraints of their budgets. The ALD will help develop short- and long-term financial strategies to ensure proper funding levels and will also evaluate new funding sources for divisions. The ALD area burden cost pool includes the following cost elements:
   
   1. Labor Expenses
      
      1. Associate Laboratory Director. A portion of the wage expense of associate laboratory directors for management and oversight of the divisions, as well as strategic planning
      2. ALD Office Staff. Wage expense of ALD administrators, ALD office management personnel, and clerical support
      3. ALD Support. Wage expense of staff whose appointment or assignment is of an ALD-wide nature that clearly and specifically supports ALD responsibilities, e.g., supplemental business development to generate funding. Assignments that benefit specific divisions or projects are excluded.
   2. Other Expenses
      
      1. ALD Office Operating Costs. Includes charges for telephone, printing, copying, travel, vehicles, noncapital equipment purchases, equipment rental/ maintenance, computing, other supplies and expense items, and electricity expenses related to the ALD Office. May include other operating costs as appropriate.
      2. Directorate seminars and conferences that benefit all divisions under the respective ALD for either career development or ALD-wide program development outcomes
3. Distribution Base.The distribution base for ALD burden costs is the associated divisional wage expenses (labor and payroll burden) and contract labor.
   
   1. The following are excluded from the distribution base for ALD burden costs:
      
      1. ALD and organization burden labor charged to their respective cost pools
      2. Costs of all consultants and the wage expense of employees matrixed from other organizations
      3. Fellowship and career-development Work for Others (WFO) award projects and work-study students
      4. Multiple location assignments (MLAs), inter-jurisdictional employee exchanges (IJEs), intergovernmental personnel appointments (IPAs), and DOE detailee projects
4. Rate Management
   
   1. ALD burden costs are allocated using pre-established rates. Each rate must have its own separate cost pool and distribution base. Rates are based on forecasted costs for the applicable cost accounting period(s) (Laboratory fiscal year).
   2. Preliminary ALD burden rates are developed on a break-even basis, with the objective of establishing a rate to recover the exact total of costs in the cost pool at fiscal year-end. If a material variance exists between cost and recovery at fiscal year end, the rate and/or budget will be revised to appropriately allocate the variance.
   3. ALD burden rate forecasts, establishments, and revisions of predetermined rates for the applicable cost accounting period(s) are prepared by appropriate ALD staff and coordinated and executed through the Budget Office.
5. Financial Management System (FMS) Project Set-up.To set up a project in the FMS, the ALD submits the project in "R-Requested" status with the following information:
   
   1. ALD Burden Projects
      
      1. Project ID = (Each ALD creates two unique project IDs for Cost and Recovery)
      2. Project Type = OHALD
      3. IBA Code = ALD
      4. MARS Code = OPEXP
      5. B&R = YN01

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Managers, supervisors, and employees must adhere to the provisions of this policy.

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

None

H. Implementing Documents

Other Reference Documents

I. Contact Information

Indirect Budget Manager, OCFO

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• Cost Accounting Standard 401, Consistency in Estimating, Accumulating and Reporting Costs
• Cost Accounting Standard 402, Consistency in Allocating Costs Incurred for the Same Purpose
• Cost Accounting Standard 406, Cost Accounting Period
• Cost Accounting Standard 418, Allocation of Direct and Indirect Costs

Implementing Documents

Other Reference Documents