Keystone Budget Guidelines
Kilachand is committed to supporting its students’ research and creative projects while promoting responsible use of Kilachand’s resources, making students aware of resources they may not have considered, and helping gain access to desired resources for projects.
About the Keystone Budget
Up to $2000 in research funds may be requested per project, but each Kilachand student does not have a $2000 fund to draw from. Budget proposals are accepted with a Project Statement via the Keystone Project Information Form. The Kilachand Keystone Committee reviews and returns each budget proposal with comments on each requested item with instructions for purchase or reimbursement or at times, a rejection of that item. Each student’s individual Keystone budget is the monetary total of the items approved by the Kilachand Keystone Committee.
Budget Proposals must be submitted in Excel using the provided template. All Kilachand students are invited to submit a Keystone budget proposal regardless of Keystone Pathway.
About Keystone Funding
These are not personal funds and students do not receive funds upfront. In most cases, materials will be purchased for the student directly by the College or the student will be reimbursed for materials purchased. In some cases, KHC staff can make direct purchases on behalf of the student using approved budget funds. Students engaged in lab research may request that their lab be reimbursed for materials they consume through an internal funds transfer. Students must provide receipts or invoices for all out-of-pocket expenses and Boston University interdepartmental-funds transfers related to their Keystone.
Any equipment or software purchased with Kilachand funds are considered the property of Boston University and must be licensed to or returned to Kilachand at the close of the project.
Keystone funding can be combined with funding from other sources, and many opportunities can be found around BU. In the past, for example, students have secured additional funding through UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program), the Newbury Center, Project Action, SPARK!, and other centers.
Types of Funding
Below are general categories of common requests, guidelines for approval and fund disbursement, and in some instances, funding limits. Funds are intended to support legitimate project expenses directly related to research and scholarship.
BU Statement on Intellectual Property
Students should be aware of Boston University’s Intellectual Property Policy, which includes the statement:
1. Intellectual property created by faculty or staff, or by students working on University research or other University projects, is owned by the University if it is created either:
(a) within the scope of University employment, including work under University grants and contracts with third parties; or
(b) with significant use of Boston University Resources.
The Kilachand Keystone Project is not intended to fund enterprises that will generate a profit. Without limiting the foregoing, any apps or technology produced as part of the Kilachand Keystone Project must be open source and available to the public. Upon request, the Kilachand directors will review Projects on a case by case basis to determine whether there may be value in distributing a product or service for a cost. In the event the Kilachand directors determine there may be value in distributing a product or service for a cost, approval of such Project shall be contingent upon student agreement to donate any profits to a reputable charity or to use any profits to reimburse Kilachand funding for production costs.
Accommodation
Kilachand will fund short-term, on-site field work conducted abroad or domestically when utilizing resources at BU or in the Boston area is not possible. If one’s primary residence also is the location of the on-site field work, Kilachand cannot pay for flights to and from, or housing at, the work site. Also, if you are working at BU during the summer, Kilachand cannot pay your rent or for flights to and from home. Students should book lodging directly and receipts should be submitted to Kilachand following the stay.
Books
Up to $150 can be disbursed; Students are strongly encouraged to utilize the BU Library system and the BPL and should also attempt to loan books and acquire journal articles via ILL (interlibrary loan).
Kilachand cannot provide students with newspaper or journal subscriptions.
Students who cannot procure books and articles through the channels above and request to be reimbursed for purchases should submit with their reimbursement request a list of books and/or articles purchased and where they attempted to loan each.
Compensation for Participants
Up to $500 can be disbursed which can be, for example, $1 each to 500 people or one $500 prize to a random winner from all respondents. Most participants are compensated through Starbucks gift cards. The only gift cards that can be purchased for participants by the College are Starbucks gift cards that are ordered through retail dining and can be picked up at Questrom. Other gift cards cannot be purchased. Contact Kilachand (keystone@bu.edu) for inquiries about other compensation types.
Equipment
Equipment purchases are not common, and the College expects that labs who have agreed to take on a project are outfitted with the equipment needed. Students should check with Kilachand and throughout BU to loan any necessary equipment. Equipment purchased by Kilachand becomes the property of the College upon completion of the project. Click the link to view all of our Keystone Tech Equipment: KHC Keystone Tech Equipment
Internships
Internships cannot be financially supported by Keystone funding under any circumstances. Funding for internships may be available through the Kilachand Internship Program (KIP), which is different from the Keystone Project.
Movies & Videos
Up to $150 can be disbursed. Students are encouraged to check for access through the BU Kanopy catalog, Geddes Language Center, the BU Library system, the BPL and ILL (interlibrary loan)
Kilachand cannot provide students with streaming subscriptions.
Students who cannot procure films through the channels above and request to be reimbursed for purchases should submit with their reimbursement request a list of films purchased and where they attempted to loan each.
Outsourcing
Kilachand expects that students will work on a majority of their project independently but understands that in rare occasions, support is needed for technical skills such as computer programming, data mining, illustration, video production, etc. For reimbursement, at least two estimates, including cost and justification for whichever chosen, must be provided. Outsourcing costs may not exceed a total of $250.
Reimbursements
Any additional approved expenses incurred by the student are funded through reimbursements. Students should keep and submit all receipts to Richard Tonetti.
Software
Students needing software should attempt to locate open-source alternatives and/or visit BU Tech Web for online software distribution. Software already available through Boston University cannot be purchased, and purchased software will be licensed to Kilachand.
Supplies and Lab Materials
Supplies can be purchased directly by Kilachand for most projects. If research is being performed in a BU lab, the lab or department can make the purchase directly and when a receipt for consumables used by the student is submitted to Kilachand, a funds transfer will be made from Kilachand to the lab or department cost center.
Travel
Students should book travel directly through Shorts Travel and BU Travel Services. Students should CC Richard Tonetti on all communication with Shorts Travel and BU Travel Services. Kilachand will fund short-term, on-site field work conducted abroad or domestically when utilizing resources at BU or in the Boston area is not possible. If one’s primary residence also is the location of the on-site field work, Kilachand cannot pay for flights to and from, or housing at, the work site. If you are conducting research at BU during the summer, Kilachand cannot pay your rent or for flights to and from your home.
Kilachand will reimburse meals during travel up to $40 per day and meal expenses should fall within the $2,000 total budget. Itemized receipts for each meal must be submitted to the College for reimbursement. Alcohol cannot be reimbursed.
Website Hosting
BU offers several services for students for web hosting. Students can obtain a ‘blog’ website. IS&T also has a list of available website services here. Such blogs are available outside Kerberos passwords, but could be protected if desired.
Any student who has sufficient Linux knowledge can set up their PC (not laptop, only desktop) running Linux to host their own web server. IS&T will not provide assistance, but with this approach each student and/or student group has total control over the content and styling.
Wix can be used for free, but they do not provide domain names for free and Wix ads are included with the site. The other popular website management services are weebly, squarespace, and WordPress, which come with the BU sites.
If your mission requires a custom URL and an ad-free space, Kilachand will reimburse students for web hosting up to $150 per project for web hosting. Kilachand will not pay directly for hosting either by subscription or one-time costs. Hosting costs will be covered only until the students’ time of graduation.