Budget Justification
The narrative that explains and defends every line in a proposal budget.
The budget justification (or budget narrative) accompanies the numbers in a proposal and explains why each cost is necessary: who the personnel are and their effort, what equipment and supplies are needed, why travel is required, and how figures were estimated.
Reviewers and grants officers use it to judge whether a budget is reasonable and allowable, and a vague justification is a common reason a budget gets cut or returned for revision.
A thin justification invites reviewers to trim the budget: the narrative is where costs are won or lost.
Track this in GrantsManager
GrantsManager gives PIs and administrators one real-time view of proposals, awards, budgets, and compliance, so terms like this stop living in spreadsheets.