PI Article: The Workday Foundation Data Model for Sponsored Awards

In Workday, the foundation data model (FDM) provides the structure for categorizing and managing data across financial and operational processes. At Georgia Tech, sponsored awards start with “AWD” followed by six digits and sponsored grant lines (within each award) start with “GR” followed by eight digits. And while there will be changes forthcoming when Unified ERP goes live in 2028, for now, the terms below are relevant for sponsored activity in our current Workday system. 

  • Fund Group: A fiscal and accounting entity that has a self-balancing set of accounts and is designed to carry on specific activities or attain certain objectives in accordance with specific regulations, restrictions, or limitations. Primary funds for Resident Instruction (RI) sponsored activity include:
    • FD 20000: Restricted – Education and General. Used for RI sponsored research.
    • FD 21015: Restricted – Enterprise Innovation Institute. Used for awards managed by EII.
    • FD 10000: State Appropriations – Education General. Often used for cost share grant lines.
  • Funding Source (Class) Code: Represents the source of funding. Primary class codes for Resident Instruction (RI) sponsored activity include:
    • CL 61000: Sponsored Operations – Federal Government. For federal and federal flow through awards.
    • CL 62000: Sponsored Operations – State Government. For awards funded by the State of Georgia.
    • CL 62500: Sponsored Operations – States Other Than Georgia. For awards funded by states other than Georgia. 
    • CL 63000: Sponsored Operations – Local Government. For awards that are funded by non-state government.
    • CL 64000: Sponsored Operations – Private. For awards funded by industry, non-profits, higher education entities (that aren’t federal flow through dollars), and foreign sponsors
  • Function Code: A method of grouping expenses according to the purpose for which the costs are incurred. This indicates how we use the funds we have. Primary function codes include:
    • FN 12100: Individual or Project Research. For research grants.
    • FN 12200: Institutes – Research Centers. For research grants that are normally GTRI interdivisional.
    • FN 13100: Community Services. For “other sponsored activities.”
  • Object Classes: Used to group ledger accounts into categories for invoicing purposes. Primary object classes include:
    • 1000: Salaries and Wages
    • 2000: Fringe Benefits
    • 2500: Tuition Remission
    • 3000: Domestic Travel
    • 3500: Foreign Travel
    • 4000: Materials and Supplies
    • 5000: Subcontracts
    • 7000: Equipment
    • 8500: Other Direct Costs
    • 9000: Sponsored Indirect Costs

If you have any questions about our foundation data model for sponsored activity, please contact Josh Rosenberg at josh.rosenberg@business.gatech.edu.