Frequently Asked Questions

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Space Manager - Inventory Update

No, as Space Manager only allows UW employees to be added as occupants. 

However, unpaid volunteers will need to be added in WebSpace for the survey functionalization so identifying them during the inventory process will be helpful.

If the employee is paid primarily by start-up funds or department research, the room type should be administrative (e.g., 312, 316). 

But if they are paid by NIH or grant sponsored, the room type should be assigned as research (e.g., 261).

Room type 255, Research Laboratory Service.

Room type describes the primary use of a room (e.g., classroom, computation dry lab, faculty office)   

https://maps.uw.edu/geosims/room-type-definitions.html 

 

Room function describes the activity taking place in the space (e.g., instruction, organized research, joint use) 

https://finance.uw.edu/maa/fa-rate-proposal/space-survey/functional-use-definitions 

 

Each room can have only one room type or primary use.  Each room can have multiple room functions. 

WebSpace - The Tool

The MAA F&A team used Space Manager as of November 30th, 2022.  Department updates through that date will be reflected in WebSpace.

WebSpace - Inventory Process

Yes, any room currently coded with room type 590 Unassigned, in on-campus leased spaces need to be updated to a more appropriate room type in WebSpace. A list of all room types will be available in WebSpace and can also be downloaded here - https://maps.uw.edu/geosims/room-type-definitions.html. Off-campus leased spaces will not impact the F&A Rate and do not need to be updated in WebSpace. 

If the mail room is not managed by a specific department, the mail room should be assigned to 208020800 Creative Communication.

If the new department is known, use the Edit Room process in WebSpace to reassign the room by selecting the new department from the list. If the new department that uses the space is not known, use the Remove Room process in WebSpace to indicate that the room does not belong to your department. 

Send an email with the building and room that you are missing to FAHelp@uw.edu.  The F&A team will try to locate the requested room and assign to your department, if found.  Additional information may be needed.

WebSpace has been updated with Space Manager data, as of November 30, 2022.  Any updates made in Space Manager changes after November 30, 2022, will also need to be made in WebSpace.   

Yes, information can be updated in WebSpace until the data has been reviewed and approved by MAA and closed for any further updates.

Recharge or service centers will be identified by marking the box within “Recharge” column during Inventory, via the Edit Room process. The survey of these rooms will be done based on billings related to this Recharge/Service Center.

If shared space has been identified in Space Manager, it will be reflected in WebSpace in the following format: <room_number>^<sequence number>.  Additional shared space can be designated using the Edit Room process in WebSpace.  Rooms can be shared across multiple departments and /or PIs.  

Yes, If there is a PI or a Lab Manager (Primary Occupant) is assigned to the research room.  If no one is assigned to supervise the lab, leave the PI designation blank.  If the cluster concept applies to a group of labs, a PI or a Primary Occupant will need to be designated.  

WebSpace - Survey Process

255 Service Rooms will be functionalized using the weighted average of the activities of the rooms they support – an automated calculation performed within WebSpace. Recharge centers will be functionalized based on their billing information – using data available in WebSpace.

The faculty/staff’s time working at a hospital should not be included as part of the % of time reported for the individual when surveying a research lab.  The hospital space is not a part of the F&A Rate calculation for the UW. As a result, any individual who spends time at the hospital or other non-UW facility should not have 100% of time reported in the research lab.  

Instruction (as part of Instruction & Departmental Research), as receiving course credit for their time and not being paid from a research grant.

If the Unpaid Volunteers spent any significant amount of time in research rooms, then need to be added as occupants using Add Manually option in WebSpace. The same process applies to undergraduate students, high school students, graduate students, visitors or agency employees.

If a person does not have a UW EID (Employee ID), use the Add Manually option in WebSpace to reflect the individual as an occupant. 

The same way as space occupied by outside persons and paid by external entities or organizations (e.g., external researchers).  If they have an UWID, you will be able to search for their name and add them as an occupant, however, since they are not paid by UW their activity will automatically be defaulted to Other Institutional Activity (OIA).

The space survey is used to determine the Facilities portion (“F”) part of our F&A rate.  Administrative (“A”) related rates are capped by the Federal government at 26%, while the Facilities rates are not.

All of the space occupied by the department should be functionalized regardless of how long a department occupied a given space.   

If a space is occupied by different occupants during the year, space functionalization should take into consideration use of all occupants during the base year.  The current owner/assignee should coordinate with all prior occupants of the space.   

Full Year Vacancy: Space should be functionalized as Vacant only if it is currently vacant or under renovation and expected to be vacant for the full 12 months of Fiscal Year 2023 (7/1/22-6/30/23).   

Partial Year Vacancy:   If space was occupied for part of FY 2023, that space should be functionalized according to how the space was used when occupied.  

This may occur but in a minority of the SLU space.  If there are questions as to budget funding, the department should follow-up with the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP).

Departmental research includes research, development, and scholarly activities that are not separately budgeted and accounted for (e.g., bridge, start-up funding). Departmental research is funded from budgets that are not restricted to a specific project.  Space used to conduct departmental research should be functionalized as departmental research as part of the Instruction & Departmental Research function (IDR).  

Organized research projects required a proposal or other application to obtain funding, have a defined scope of work associated with the project, anticipate a "deliverable" result, and require that periodic financial and progress reports be submitted to the sponsor.  Space used to conduct organized research should be functionalized as organized research (OR). 

1. Research grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements sponsored by the Federal government and Non-Federal agencies and organizations (e.g., states, cities, foundations, corporations, etc.). 

2. University funded research separately budgeted and accounted for on a specific project basis (e.g., Royalty Research Funds). 

3. Sponsored research training of individuals in research techniques (or research training). 

4. Federally sponsored clinical trials.   Note, Non-federally funded (or industry funded) clinical trials are considered Other Sponsored Activity (OSA). 

5. Research cost sharing related to organized research projects and included on effort reports. 

WebSpace will be updated on a recurring basis during the Space Survey (January-April 2023).  The new project/budget should be available within that time-frame so that the space can reflect latest project/budget activities. 

If unpaid, only represent FTE that you can confirm with high-confidence level.  If paid, be careful not to lose sight of instruction when trying to assess the type of work being performed.

They should be listed in each lab occupied during the year, wherever they are doing rotation work for a reasonable length of time (e.g., quarter or pay period).  

The lab should be split by amount of recharge and amount of research.  This can be done by allocating % by room based on use of space usage (E.g., # workbenches, # hours/days of week).

No, a PI should only be listed as an occupant, when performing work in that space. A PI should not be listed as an occupant if providing management and/or project oversight only.  

No.  This is because an individual may spend time in room(s) not related to research (or part of the Space Survey), which would leave them with a % of total time less than 100% in WebSpace.

Adjust % of time by room to add up to 100%.  Federal guidance limits a person to 1.0 FTE; the 100% of time aligns to 1.0 FTE

UW spaces used for Organized Research (OR) need to allocate related F&A costs, which drives the need for specific site (South Lake Union-SLU, Applied Physics Lab-APL)  and (OFFR) Off Campus Research designations.  These separate ways to capture F&A data are important but sometimes complex.  If you have further questions, please contact FAHelp@uw.edu.

Service and Recharge Centers

Set up internal billing by having an ISP/ISD created.  Submit a ticket here:  
Internal Service Provider (ISP) Setup/Maintain

There will be a new rate proposal template available by January 2024.

Service and Recharge cost centers on workday only have 3 worktags – operational, equipment and external surcharge.

  • RS100073 Center Operations Resource 
  • RS100075 External Center Surcharge Resource
  • RS100076 Equipment Reserve Resource.

These 3 worktags are exclusive for Service and Recharge centers.

Depreciation expense is automatically processed as part of the period close activity and posted monthly. 

Please request a fund transfer with your Shared Environment

Workday FAQs for Service and Recharge Centers

  • Create an ISP/ISD for internal billing.   
    • ISP stands for Internal Service Provider.  ISP is a UW department/unit providing goods or services to internal customers such as faculty, staff, students, and other departments. ISD stands for Internal Service Delivery.  ISD is a Workday transaction that records critical information related to the item(s) that an ISP provides to a requester. When approved, it generates revenue/recovery for the ISP and expense for the requester.  
    • Submit a ticket here for internal billing on approved rates: Internal Service Provider (ISP) Setup/Maintain 
       
  • Is the Recharge and Service Center ISP (Internal Service Provider) a one-to-one relationship? Or can multiple ISP’s be mapped to one single cost center? 
    • Workday recharge and service cost centers must have at least one ISP set up.  
       
  • New Program Income accounts are vetted by SPF.  Please fill out the Program Income Request Form and submit via Grant Tracker or email to gcahelp@uw.edu  Please see their Program Site guide here: Program Income Guidelines  Please see PAFC site to learn more about Program Income.  Program Income requiring a rate review will be reviewed by MAA. 
    • If the award is ending and the center wish to continue revenue generation activity, the Program Income account closes and an ISP will need to be created. 
       
  • *NEW* Having trouble with your Cost Center because it’s in the Service and Recharge Cost Center Hierarchy?  Check this list (basic list of 14- budgets for reference) of legacy budgets to see if you’re part of the effort to create Service and Recharge ONLY Cost Centers specifically for Service and Recharge and their ISP’s. 
     
  • How is depreciation recorded in Workday? 
    • Depreciation expense is automatically processed as part of the period close activity and posted monthly.
       
  • Service and Recharge Depreciation Treatment Chart 
     
  • MyFD retired, how do I correct my depreciation? 
    • Please request a fund transfer with your Shared Environment.
       
  • What are the Resource worktags for use with Service and Recharge cost centers?
    • Service and Recharge cost centers may only use three Resource worktags –  RS100073 Center Operations Resource, RS100075 External Center Surcharge Resource and RS100076 Equipment Reserve Resource.  
       
  • When will new service and recharge center rate proposal template be available?  
    • There will be a new rate proposal template available by January 2024.
       
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