Participant support costs are those costs paid to (or on behalf of) participants in meetings, conferences, symposia, training activities, workshops and similar events. When the Sponsor (federal or non-federal agency) funds a project aimed at supporting outreach programs to bring experts together to discuss research or education findings or to expose other researchers or students to new research and education techniques, the funding provided by the sponsor may include this category of expenses.
Specifically, participant support costs may include costs of transportation or travel allowance, per diem, manuals and supplies (only those directly attributable to individual participants), tuition and stipends, publication and other related costs for participants or trainees. If GT hosts a conference or workshop, participant support costs are subject to the Conference & Workshop guidelines. However, if the event is hosted by another entity, these guidelines will not apply. The number of participants to be supported must be entered in the parentheses on the proposal budget. These costs also must be justified in the budget justification section of the proposal.Some programs, such as Research Experiences for Undergraduates, have special instructions for treatment of participant support.
Projects funded by NSF generally do not allow indirect costs (F&A) on participant support costs. Other sponsors generally do not have such prohibition.
Participant support costs should not be confused with general travel costs which may be incurred by principal investigators and others as those costs relate to individual research and other projects.
Selected Considerations:
- Participant support costs should be considered as only those costs that can directly be attributable to an individual participant rather than costs that support all participants collectively.
- Costs for project organizers (such as PI, co-I, etc.), speakers, and program facilitators or coordinators, even where these individuals may also participate as a program participant, are NOT considered participant support costs.
- Examples of programs where participant support costs may be appropriate include: Research Experience for Undergraduates funded by the NSF
- Conference and workshops as part of a larger scope project such as a multi-site research project
See the NSF guidelines on participant support costs for more information.