Effort commitment is the portion of time committed to a particular activity expressed as a percentage of the individual's total activity for the institution.

The level of committed effort proposed for a project should reflect the percent of time and effort required to meet the goals of the project. When a project is awarded, the proposed commitment of effort becomes binding and federal effort must be supported throughout the performance period of the project by certified effort reports. The percent of time committed to a project must be reasonable in relation to the other total institutional activities for which an individual is compensated by the university.

Committed effort for Principal Investigators and other Key Personnel must be tracked in the Effort Commitment system for federal and non-federal sponsored projects.

What is the difference between Effort Commitment & Effort Reporting?

Effort commitment is that effort committed or promised prior to or at the start of the project. It is not the actual effort expended, but a projected amount. The amount committed should be a realistic amount that can be adhered to. Effort commitment is tracked in the Effort Commitment system.

Effort reports are certified after the effort has been expended. It shows the actual effort spent on the project. Effort reporting ensures that the effort charged or committed to each research award has actually been met. Effort reports are tracked in the Effort Reporting System (ERS).

The cost share information entered in the Cost Share Tracking system is reflected in ERS. It is important that effort commitments are entered in a timely manner to ensure that the information is accurate in ERS.

The federal government holds the university responsible for complete and accurate effort reporting and for ensuring that each investigator’s complement of support accurately reflects their actual programmatic activities.