Definition · Plain-language
Time and effort certification
Time and effort certification is how an institution confirms that salaries charged to federal awards match the effort people actually devoted to those projects.
The step most authors miss
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Why effort is certified
Salaries are usually the largest cost on a research award, and federal funds may pay only for the effort actually spent on the funded work. Because most academics divide their time across teaching, administration and several grants, an institution must be able to show that the salary it charged to each award corresponds to real effort. Certification is the confirmation — typically by the individual or someone with first-hand knowledge — that the distribution of charged salary reasonably reflects the work performed over the period.
What Uniform Guidance requires
The relevant standard is the “Standards for Documentation of Personnel Expenses” in 2 CFR 200.430. It requires that charges for salaries be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed, are supported by the institution’s internal controls, and reconcile to the payroll system. Notably, Uniform Guidance moved away from prescribing a rigid percentage-based effort-report form, focusing instead on a reliable system of internal control. Institutions therefore design a method — certification statements, after-the-fact reviews, or payroll confirmation — that meets the documentation standard.
Getting certification right
Effort is expressed as a proportion of total institutional effort, not of a notional forty-hour week, so adding a new commitment reduces the percentage available for others. Certifications are made after the period so they reflect what actually happened, and they should be completed by someone with suitable means of verification. Because inaccurate effort certification is a frequent and high-profile audit and enforcement issue, institutions train certifiers and reconcile certified effort against committed and charged effort.
Key facts
At a glance
- Definition: certifying effort devoted to federally funded projects
- Purpose: supports salary/wage charges to federal awards
- Authority: Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR 200.430
- Basis: a proportion of total institutional effort
- Timing: certified after the fact, by someone with knowledge
- No fixed form: system of internal control, not a mandated template
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: Effort is certified as a share of a 40-hour week.
Actually: Effort is a proportion of an individual’s total professional activity for the institution, not of a fixed-hours week, so all commitments together make up 100%.
Often heard: Uniform Guidance mandates a specific effort-report form.
Actually: 2 CFR 200.430 requires reliable documentation and internal controls, not a particular percentage-based form, giving institutions flexibility in method.
Often heard: You can certify effort in advance of doing the work.
Actually: Certification is an after-the-fact confirmation that charged salary reflects effort actually performed; planned effort is a separate, prospective commitment.
Going deeper
