Effort Reporting for Vilas Awards

Page Updated: January 23, 2020

Why do I need to report effort on a Vilas award?
Vilas awards, such as the Vilas Research Associates and the Vilas Research Professorships, are granted to fund faculty research activities. Although a University selection committee nominates the recipients of these awards, the William F. Vilas Trust, an organization separate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, makes final approval and funding decisions for these awards. All Vilas awards are subject to the Trust’s specific terms and conditions and reporting requirements.

In most cases, Vilas awards provide salary support to faculty. This salary support is intended to allow the recipient to devote his/her time to research activities. The amount of salary support is capped at various levels as specified by the Vilas Trust.

As with all extramurally funded sponsored projects, effort must be certified for all individuals who receive salary support from a sponsored project or who expend committed effort on a sponsored project without receiving salary support from the sponsor. This means that Vilas awards will require effort certification.

How do I report effort on a Vilas award?
On the effort cards in ECRT, a faculty member will see the Vilas awards appearing in the “Sponsored” section. A percentage of your total salary will appear in the “Payroll %” column. This percentage will depend on the amount of Vilas salary support in relation to your total payroll for that period.

You should report some level of effort on the Vilas award. Vilas awards are given to fund your research work. If you are devoting a portion of your professional time to research, it is appropriate to attribute some of this effort to Vilas funding. The amount of effort to report will depend on the specific Vilas award and the appointment type.

• Vilas Research Professorships (Twelve-Month Appointments (A-Basis) and Nine-Month Appointments (C- Basis))
  Vilas Professors receive a fixed amount of $10,000 of salary support each year. You should certify the same percentage of effort as the percentage of salary displayed on the ECRT effort card.
• Vilas Research Associates (Nine-Month Appointments (C-Basis))
  These Vilas Associates receive an additional two months of salary support up to a cap determined by the Vilas Trustees (e.g., $12,750/mo. for Summer 2008). You should certify the same percentage of effort as the percentage of salary displayed on the ECRT effort card.
• Vilas Research Associates (Twelve-Month Appointments (A-Basis))
  These Vilas Associates receive no salary support for the PI. A reasonable estimate of your research effort (not less than 1%) should be entered on ECRT.
• Vilas Life Cycle Awards
  These awards generally receive no salary support for the PI. A reasonable estimate of your research effort (not less than 1%) should be entered on ECRT.