Budgeting for Research Communication in a Grant Application
How to put research communication into a grant budget: what NSF, SSHRC and CIHR say about dissemination costs, which lines to use, and how to write a justification a reviewer can follow. Includes a worked budget table.
The budget is usually the last part of a grant application to get attention, and the communication lines are the last part of the budget. You write a dissemination plan full of good intentions, then find nothing in the budget pays for any of it.
Reviewers notice that gap. The good news is that several major funders say plainly that communication costs can be requested. The work is putting them in the right lines and justifying them in a way a reviewer can check.
What Funders Say About Dissemination Costs
Rules differ by funder and by programme, and they change, so treat this as a starting point and read the current call. At the time of writing (October 2026), three funders are explicit.
| Funder | What it says | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| NSF (US) | The budget may request funds for documenting, preparing, publishing or otherwise making available the findings and products of the work | Line G2, Publication/Documentation/Dissemination |
| SSHRC (Canada) | Costs related to open access publishing and dissemination in both official languages are eligible | Insight Grant budget, explained in the budget justification |
| CIHR (Canada) | The costs of dissemination are eligible expenditures in all CIHR grants | Modular budget, with a description of what the funds will be used for |
NSF
NSF's Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG 24-1), Chapter II describes Line G2 as covering reports, reprints, page charges or other journal costs (except costs for prior or early publication), necessary illustrations, and data and software documentation. Outside help goes on Line G3, Consultant Services, where costs are allowable when reasonable in relation to the services rendered and must be justified. The same page notes that NSF has issued supplemental policy notices applying to awards made from December 2025 and January 2026, so check them alongside your solicitation.
SSHRC
SSHRC's Insight Grant applicant instructions list open access publishing activities and dissemination in both official languages among the practices whose costs are eligible. Consulting fees for professional and technical services are eligible if the budget justification demonstrates expert advice is needed. The budget justification has a two-page maximum, the appropriateness of the budget is a subcriterion under Feasibility, and you must distinguish travel for research from travel for communication, such as conference travel.
CIHR
CIHR's Project Grant review process page says the costs of dissemination are eligible expenditures in all CIHR grants. Project Grant budgets use a modular template with pre-set incremental levels, plus a comprehensive description of what the funds will be used for. CIHR says the budget assessment must not influence the rating of the application, but it is still up to you to show reviewers clearly why the funds are needed. It puts the choice of vehicle on the researcher, and says that when audiences outside the research community should know the findings, more ambitious dissemination plans and comprehensive strategies are expected. For the detail of CIHR's KT categories, see our CIHR end of grant KT plan guide.
What to Price
Start from the plan, not the budget form. For each audience in your dissemination or knowledge mobilization plan, list what they will actually receive and what it takes to make it. Typical lines include:
- Open access article processing charges, if the journal charges them and the funder allows it.
- Translation, where you plan to share findings in a second language.
- Writing, design or video production by a professional, if no one on the team has the skill.
- Plain language summaries, briefs or infographics for non-academic audiences.
- Travel and registration for presenting to practitioners, policymakers or the public, kept separate from research travel.
- Web hosting, event costs or printing, if your institution does not already provide them.
Get current quotes while you write. A figure you can trace to a quote or a published rate is easier to defend than a round guess.
A worked example: one paper, three budget lines
Say you are applying for a SSHRC Insight Grant for a study of how schools use attendance data, and your plan names teachers and district administrators as audiences. The budget section might read like this (amounts left out on purpose: use your own quotes). The line names come from SSHRC's instructions; your grants office can confirm where each item belongs.
| Plan activity | Budget line | Justification sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Open access publication of the main article | Other expenses (other) | "Open access publication makes the findings free to the teachers and administrators named in the knowledge mobilization plan." |
| French version of the summary and brief | Other expenses: professional or technical services | "A professional translator will prepare French versions so the findings reach both official language communities, as the plan commits." |
| Presentation at a regional educators' conference in year 2 | Travel and subsistence costs | "Travel for communication purposes: presenting findings to practitioners, separate from the research travel described above." |
Each line points back to an audience and an activity in the plan. A reviewer reading the plan and the budget side by side sees the same three things in both.
Three Ways Communication Budgets Go Wrong
- Costs with no activity. A line called "dissemination" with a single figure and no detail gives the reviewer nothing to judge.
- Activities with no cost. A plan promising videos, briefs and a translated summary, with nothing in the budget, reads as wishful.
- Paying the wrong people. The European Research Executive Agency warns grant holders about publishers who claim to work with the European Commission and say their fees can be recovered as eligible costs. It says it will always tell you if a contractor genuinely working for the Commission is going to contact you, that legitimate contractors do not charge beneficiaries any fees, and to ask your Project Officer if you need advice.
Where Amplify Fits
If your plan promises formats for people outside your field, Amplify is one way to cost them per paper. One order covers one paper and all four formats (a video abstract of about 3 minutes, a vertical short, an audio brief in English plus 21 more languages on request, and a one-page print-ready infographic) at one price, with no subscription. The embeddable widget, analytics, multilingual chat with the paper, a download bundle and email and priority support are included, with no add-ons.
That makes the line simple to write: one cost per paper you plan to publish. Take the current price from the Amplify page when you prepare the budget, and confirm with your grants office which category it belongs in. The analytics (reads, listens, questions asked, languages and which format moved people) are also the kind of evidence a final report asks for; see how to evidence research impact in a grant report.
Put the communication plan and its budget side by side before you submit. If every promise has a cost and every cost has a promise, the reviewer will not have to guess.
Quick answers
Can I include dissemination costs in an NSF grant budget?
Yes. NSF's proposal guide (PAPPG 24-1) lets the budget request funds for documenting, preparing, publishing or otherwise making available the findings of the work, on Line G2, Publication/Documentation/Dissemination. Costs for prior or early publication are excluded. Check the current guide and your solicitation, since NSF has issued supplemental notices.
Are knowledge mobilization costs eligible in a SSHRC Insight Grant?
Yes. At the time of writing (October 2026), SSHRC's Insight Grant instructions say costs for open access publishing and dissemination in both official languages are eligible, and professional services are eligible if the justification shows expert advice is needed. Travel for communication purposes must be explained separately from research travel.
Does CIHR pay for disseminating research results?
Yes. CIHR's Project Grant review page says the costs of dissemination are eligible expenditures in all CIHR grants. It also says that when audiences outside the research community need to know the findings, more ambitious dissemination plans and comprehensive strategies are expected.
How do I justify communication costs in a grant budget?
Tie each cost to a named audience and a specific output in your dissemination or knowledge mobilization plan. Every communication line in the budget should match an activity in the plan, and every activity the plan promises should have a cost, so a reviewer reading the two side by side sees the same things in both.
