Project control
We would encourage you to consider drafting the budget during the early stages of preparing your grant proposal. Most grants do not cover all the costs of the research. It is therefore necessary to: 1) request permission from your faculty or department before submitting the grant application, and 2) seek support from project control to draw up an adequate budget plan.
This is not something you need to come up with on your own; rather, there are project controllers within your faculty with whom you can discuss your budget plans and who can help you to make a detailed breakdown of the estimated costs. They can also assist you in budget formulation; provide guidance on grant regulations; facilitate (financial) reporting processes; and manage budget adjustments, both prior to and during the project’s implementation.
Project control can also provide guidance on the primary cost categories and the corresponding regulations.
Contact your faculty project control team to discuss the opportunities available to you.
Project Management
You have been awarded a grant for your research project. As you start your research, it is wise to first think about your project management. Within each phase of your research project there are certain management tasks that must be addressed and fulfilled. These project management tasks encompass a broad range of responsibilities that are essential for successful execution of your project, such as work plan development, resource allocation of personnel costs, funds and equipment, risk assessment, coordination and communication amongst stakeholders and financial monitoring and project reporting.
Understandably, you want to devote as much of your time as possible to the research itself. Therefore, VU is working on extending the number op project managemers to support you (many grants provide budget for project management!) Perhaps there is a project manager within your department or faculty who can support you. If you can't find a project manager yet, then you can check the funding source website for templates and guidelines.