Advanced Form Builder (AFB): Using Expression Fields

Scenario: A PI requests 25% effort on a project, with fringe benefits applied at 30%.

Fields Used:

• Annual Base Salary (field1) = 100,000
• Percent Effort (field2) = 25%
• Fringe Rate (field3) = 30%
• Salary Requested (field4)
• Fringe Requested (field5)
• Total Personnel Costs (field6)

Expressions:

field4 = {{field1 * field2}}  

field5 = {{field4 * field3}}  

field6 = {{field4 + field5}}  

Result:

• Salary Requested = $25,000
• Fringe Requested = $7,500
• Total Personnel Costs = $32,500

Scenario: NIH caps indirect cost recovery at the first $25,000 of each subaward.

Fields Used:

• field1 = Direct Costs (total, including subaward)
• field2 = Subaward Amount
• field3 = F&A Rate
• field4 = MTDC Base (Expression Field)
• field5 = Indirect Costs (Expression Field)

Step 1 — Create Helper Fields

1. Subaward Over 25k (Expression Field)
   • Formula: field2 > 25000
   • Returns true if the subaward is larger than $25,000.
2. MTDC Case: Subaward ≤ 25k
   • Formula: field1
   • Meaning: If the subaward is $25,000 or less, include it fully in the MTDC base.
3. MTDC Case: Subaward > 25k
   • Formula: field1 - field2 + 25000
   • Meaning: Remove the portion of the subaward above $25,000.

Scenario: Institution commits to a 20% cost share.

Fields Used:

• Sponsor Direct Costs (field1) = $200,000
• Cost Share % (field2) = 20%
• Institutional Cost Share (field3)

Expression:

field3 = field1 * field2

Result:
Institutional Cost Share = $40,000

Scenario: A project spans 3 years with separate period budgets.

Fields Used:

• Period 1 Direct Costs (field1) = $100,000
• Period 2 Direct Costs (field2) = $110,000
• Period 3 Direct Costs (field3) = $120,000
• Cumulative Direct Costs (field4)

Expression:

field4 = {{field1 + field2 + field3}}  

Result:
Cumulative Direct Costs = $330,000

Scenario: Salaries escalate by 3% annually.

Fields Used:

• Base Year Salary (field1) = $80,000
• Escalation Rate (field2) = 3%
• Year 2 Salary (field3)
• Year 3 Salary (field4)

Expressions:

field3 = field1 * {{1 + field2/100}}  

field4 = field3 * {{1 + field2/100}}  

Result:

• Year 2 Salary = $82,400
• Year 3 Salary = $84,872

Scenario: A program funds stipends for multiple participants across multiple sessions.

Fields Used:

• Number of Participants (field1) = 10
• Stipend per Participant (field2) = $500
• Number of Sessions (field3) = 4
• Total Participant Support (field4)

Expression:

field4 = {{field1 * field2 * field3}}  

Result:

• Total Participant Support = $20,000

7a. Scenario: Automatically create a reporting-friendly field that combines project title and PI name.

Fields:

• Project Title (field1) = “Climate Impact Study”
• PI Last Name (field2) = “Nguyen”
• Project Display Name (field3)

Expression:

field3 = field1 + " (" + field2 + ")"  

Result:
Climate Impact Study (Nguyen)

7b. Scenario: Concatenate sponsor, award number, and fiscal year into one identifier.

Fields:

• Sponsor Code (field1) = “NSF”
• Award Number (field2) = “12345”
• Fiscal Year (field3) = “2025”
• Combined Award ID (field4)

Expression:

field4 = field1 + "-" + field2 + "-" + field3  

Result:
NSF-12345-2025

8a. Scenario: Flag whether a project is modular or non-modular based on cost threshold.

Fields:

• Total Direct Costs (field1) = 300,000
• Budget Category (field2)

Expression:

field2 = if(field1 > 250000, "Non-Modular", "Modular")  

Result:
Non-Modular

8b. Scenario: Apply different indirect cost rates depending on sponsor type.

Fields:

• Direct Costs (field1) = $100,000
• Sponsor Type (field2) = “Federal” or “Industry”
• Federal F&A Rate (field3) = 50%
• Industry F&A Rate (field4) = 60%
• Indirect Costs (field5)

Expression:

field5 = if(field2 == "Federal", field1 * field3, field1 * field4)  

Result (Federal): $50,000
Result (Industry): $60,000

8c. Scenario: Apply fringe only if effort > 0%.

Fields:

• Effort % (field1)
• Salary (field2)
• Fringe Rate (field3)
• Fringe Costs (field4)

Expression:

field4 = if(field1 > 0, (field2 * field1) * field3, 0)  

Result:

• Effort = 0 → Fringe = $0
• Effort = 25% (Salary = $100k) → Fringe = $7,500

Scenario: Automatically assign a risk level based on multiple compliance-related answers.

Use additive logic with comparisons, following the equals/any-answer patterns documented in AFB: https://support.cayuse.com/hc/en-us/articles/33779194076563-Advanced-Form-Builder-Display-Ignore-Logic

( (export_control_flag == "Yes" ? 1 : 0) * 3 ) +

( (pi_prior_noncompliance == "Yes" ? 1 : 0) * 3 ) +

( (foreign_component_flag == "Yes" ? 1 : 0) * 2 ) +

( human_subjects_risk == "Clinical Trial" ? 3 :

  human_subjects_risk == "Full Board" ? 2 :

  human_subjects_risk == "Expedited" ? 1 : 0 ) +

( (undisclosed_coi_flag == "Yes" ? 1 : 0) * 2 )

Step 2 — Risk Rating (Visible fields)
Create three labels (e.g., Information objects) and gate their visibility with boolean expressions:

• High:

{{ risk_score >= 5 }}

• Medium:

{{ risk_score >= 3 && risk_score < 5 }}

• Low:

{{ risk_score < 3 }}

Results

Here’s how the rating would look in practice:

• Case 1: A study flagged for export control (3 points) and prior noncompliance (3 points).
  • Risk Score = 6
  • Risk Rating = High
• Case 2: A study with Full Board IRB review (2 points) and a foreign component (2 points).
  • Risk Score = 4
  • Risk Rating = Medium
• Case 3: A study with no export control, no foreign component, and expedited IRB review (1 point).
  • Risk Score = 1

Risk Rating = Low

Clinical trial budgets often include one-time fees, per-patient reimbursements, and either percentage-based or flat indirect costs. Expression fields allow you to capture these parameters at a high level and easily generate both the FOA maximum and realistic enrollment scenarios.

Example Parameters (Pfizer FOA):

• Start-Up Costs = $5,000 (one-time)
• Data Storage = $1,000 (one-time)
• Study Closeout = $2,000 (one-time)
• Per-Patient Reimbursement = $100
• Indirect Costs (flat) = $5,000
• Planned Enrollment = 100 patients
• Realistic Enrollment = 60 patients

Fields

• field1 = Startup Costs
• field2 = Data Storage Costs
• field3 = Closeout Costs
• field4 = Per-Patient Reimbursement
• field5 = Planned Patients (from FOA)
• field6 = Realistic Patients (institution assumption)
• field7 = Indirect Costs (flat)
• field8 = FOA Budget (max)
• field9 = Realistic Budget

• Retain IDs and Short Labels when replacing form objects with expression fields to maintain consistent reporting. Learn more in the linked article.
• Use Preview Mode to validate that expressions return expected results before publishing.