Indirect Cost Services
Welcome to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), National Business Center (NBC) Indirect Cost Services (ICS). This home page provides basic guidance about where and how to submit Indirect Cost Proposals (ICPs) to obtain a current negotiated indirect cost rate for federal grants and contracts.
Please review our disclaimer.
Who is your ICS staff?
Our motto is better service through improved efficiency, which we achieve through the three C's:
- Continuity through staff retention
- Consistency in interpretation and application of rules and regulations
- Convenience for clients - one place for indirect cost information and negotiation.
Click here for more information on your ICS staff.
Back to the top 
How do you contact us?
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Business Center
Indirect Cost Services
2180 Harvard Street, Suite 430
Sacramento, CA 95815
Phone No. (916) 566-7111
Fax No. (916) 566-7110
Email: ics@nbc.gov
Email the ICS if you have any questions concerning the Indirect Cost Negotiation Processes or if you have any suggestions on how to make this site more customer friendly.
Back to the top 
Litigation Update
On June 11, 2003, the Honorable C. LeRoy Hanson, United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico, issued the Third Stipulated Order to Implement Benchmarking Methodology to clarify implementation of the prior two orders (see “Prior Orders” below). This Order includes four attachments as follows:
- Attachment 1 - (5/28/03) "Revised Exhibit 'A' To Stipulated Order Regarding Equitable Relief to Implement Benchmarking Methodology" (revised Exhibit A from June 1, 2001, Equitable Relief Order)
- Attachment 2 - (5/28/03) "Revised Exhibit 'B' - New Benchmarking Template" (revised Exhibit B from the June 1, 2001, Equitable Relief Order)
- Template to calculate the incremental increase used to calculate the BIA Benchmarked Rate as provided in Attachments 1 and 2 of the June 11, 2003, order in Excel Format
- Attachment 3 - "FY 2001 Carryforward and FY 2003 Rate Computation" spreadsheet (see electronic form "Template to Calculate the Carryforward Amount for Native American Entities" in Excel Format).
- Attachment 4 - "55 Tribal Organizations That Received Benchmarking BIA Rates"
Prior Orders:
- October 5, 2000, the Honorable C. LeRoy Hanson, United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico issued a Stipulated Order Regarding Equitable Relief in the matter of Ramah Navaho Chapter and Oglala Sioux Tribe vs. Bruce Babbit, et. al., that rescinded and replaced all previous orders.
- June 1, 2001, the Honorable C. LeRoy Hanson, United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico issued a Stipulated Equitable Relief Order to Implement the Benchmarking Methodology in the matter of Ramah Navaho Chapter and Oglala Sioux Tribe vs. Bruce Babbit, et. al.
- August 5, 2002, the Honorable C. LeRoy Hanson, United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico issued a Second Stipulated Order to Implement Benchmarking Methodology to clarify implementation of the first order.
Back to the top 
What is new?
- Attention State Agencies: Visit our Helpful Tools - Template Section and find our new and improved spreadsheet to perform your three percent limitation analysis. The upgraded spreadsheet is usable by everyone, no matter what their direct cost base is and, if applicable, will calculate your adjusted SWCAP amount.
- Our office and the Department of Education entered into an agreement that allows you to submit "restricted rates" to us for Education grants with the "supplement not supplant" provision. Education will review and approve the "restricted rates" and provide the administrative support and technical assistance in case of an appeal or other disagreements regarding the "restricted rate."
- Our office will send out for signature and issue the "restricted rate" together with standard rates in customary negotiation agreements. For your convenience and to facilitate the "restricted rate" calculation, we are making available the Department of Education letter which includes an example on how to compute the "restricted rate."
- Tribes participating in Tribal Self-Governance may qualify for predetermined rates as long as they negotiate annual funding agreements as discussed in the Federal Register, Vol. 65, No. 242, page 78689. Tribes qualify as long as they do not have any federal contracts in their direct cost base and meet the Circular A-87 requirement of having a "stable cost experience." Our office considers a "stable cost experience" to be a history of several years (minimum of three separate negotiations) in which indirect costs are stable/consistent from year to year as well as in relation to the respective direct cost bases.
Back to the top 
How do you prepare and submit an ICP?
Preparing and Submitting Indirect Cost Proposals
Helpful tools for your preparation:
Back to the top 
How do we process your ICP?
Processing Indirect Cost Proposals includes information on submittal deadlines and discusses the procedures employed by ICS to review and evaluate an indirect cost
proposal.
What is envisioned for this site?
We envision that this site will ultimately provide information on:
- The individual status of submitted indirect cost proposals.
- Negotiated indirect cost rates (restricted to federal contracting officials and individual client entities).
- Negotiation procedures, upcoming training opportunities, and other related events.
We believe that the development of our Web site would not be complete without your ideas. In that regard, we invite you to send your comments to any of our ICS staff or to our email address. Together, we can create a Web site with information that will be useful to all of us.
Back to the top 
IMPORTANT LINKS
Where can you find additional reference materials? More comprehensive guidance and information may be obtained through the following links:
DISCLAIMER
We have made every attempt to ensure that
the information on this site conforms to current laws, regulations, and
guidance governing the negotiation of indirect cost rates. Please
understand, however, that the actual texts of these laws, regulations, and
guidance are the definitive sources for information and direction on
indirect cost rate negotiations. Also, please note that individual
agencies responsible for developing and enforcing regulations on indirect
costs may clarify their regulations from time to time, which can change
how you apply the regulations in negotiating your indirect cost
rates.
Back to the top 
|