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Research Funding

Research Funding. Dr Campbell Thomson. Research Services. Overview. Context Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing Roles and responsibilities. Overview.

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Research Funding

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  1. Research Funding Dr Campbell Thomson Research Services

  2. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  3. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  4. Context Government investment into research 2010-2011

  5. Context (cont.) • Government investment into higher education research is about 41% • Dual funding system: • Competitive schemes: $1.6 billion (ARC + NHMRC) • Block funding schemes: $1.7 billion • Competitive grants encourage researchers to compete on quality and impact; Block funding provides a research base to allow institutions to make strategic choices

  6. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  7. Competitive Grant Funding 2009 • ARC competitive funding $550 million • NHMRC competitive funding $625 million • Other competitive programs $400 million (including CRCs) $1,575 million

  8. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  9. Constructing a research budget • Forms the basis on which your project is funded • A well constructed budget should include all direct costs of your project • A well justified budget should increase your chances of having these direct costs funded • 2005 ARC Discovery Project round UWA’s average grant size increased from $248,000 to $360,000

  10. Project costing template

  11. Project costing template (cont.)

  12. Project costing template (cont.)

  13. Project costing template (cont.)

  14. Other DIRECT project costs • Equipment • Maintenance and travel • Overseas per diem and accommodation (ATO) • Relocation and appointment expenses (HR) • Animal agistment costs • Occupational health and safety costs • External audit costs

  15. INDIRECT project costs • Laboratory/office space • Existing research support/administrative support • Libraries • Power and lighting • Computer services and telecommunications • Building maintenance/cleaning

  16. How to calculate indirect costs • Percentage of direct costs • Apply a multiplier against all professional salaries - High cost school/centre – 127% - Medium cost school/centre – 114% - Low cost school/centre – 100%

  17. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  18. Infrastructure • Infrastructure = indirect costs • When to apply infrastructure charge: On all research grants, contracts, tenders and consultancies with the exception of: - Australian Competitive Grants - Bona fide donations - Scholarship stipends • Full infrastructure should be applied if IP or publishing rights are not fully retained

  19. How to calculate infrastructure • Percentage of direct costs – 35% or 15%. Current University policy • Apply a salary multiplier against all professional salaries - 127%, 114%, 100% • Contracts and tenders must be fully costed to comply with competitive neutrality policy NOTE: All contracts and tenders must be submitted through the Research Grants Office and must be signed by an authorised signatory

  20. What happens to infrastructure recoveries • 68% to the school/centre • 32% to central services - 35% to Universities Facilities (ACU/CMM etc.) - 35% to Academic Services (Research Services/Legal Services/Financial Services etc.) - 30% to the Library

  21. Fully costed budget using % of direct costs

  22. Fully costed budget using salary multiplier

  23. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  24. indirect (in-kind + Facilities & Admin) direct Cost to Res. Org.(Full Economic Cost) direct overhead Price to Client $ Cost versus price • Price: Amount charged or paid by the research sponsor • Cost: The sum of all costs, direct and indirect, associated with a research project

  25. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  26. Metrics (HERDC) • Research income categories: • Category 1 income: ACG e.g. ARC, NHMRC • Category 2 income: Public Sector • Category 3 income: Industry • Category 4 income: CRCs • Publication categories: • A1: Book • B1: Book chapter • C1: Refereed journal article • E1: Refereed conference article

  27. DIISR block funding flows 2009 • Research Infrastructure Block Grant (RIBG) $220 M - % share ofmost recent two years Category 1 Income • Research Training Scheme (RTS) $615 M - % share of HDR student completions (50%), % share of Category 1,2,3,4 income (40%), and % share A1,B1,C1 and E1 publications (10%) • Institutional Grants Scheme (IGS) $325 M - % share of Category 1,2,3,4 income (60%), % share of HDR student load (30%), and % share A1,B1,C1 and E1 publications (10%)

  28. DIISR block funding flows 2010 • Research Infrastructure Block Grant (RIBG) $220 M • Research Training Scheme (RTS) $615 M • Joint Research Engagement (JRE) $325 M • % share of Category 2,3,4 income • Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE) $300 M • % share of Category 1 income moderated by quality and indirect cost drivers • Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) $50 M

  29. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  30. Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE) • 2009/10 budget reform to boost Australia’s competitiveness by: - Increasing the number of research groups performing at world-class levels - Addressing the shortfall in funding of indirect costs of Australian Competitive Grants (ACGs) - Return of 50 cents in the dollar of ACG income

  31. SRE block funding • 20% baseline on % share of ACG income • 13% for universities who sign up for Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) and transparent costing (TC) – based on % share of first $2.5M ACG (threshold 1) • 67% for universities signed up for ERA and TC – based on % share of ACG above $2.5M moderated by quality (ERA) and costs (TC) (threshold 2)

  32. SRE moderated by quality • Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) initiative • Publications over a 6 year window by FOR • Discipline specific outputs peer reviewed • Esteem factors • Results published at FOR level (1,2,3,4, or 5) • UWA had 91% of assessable two-digit FORs rated at world class or above (3,4,5) • Ei moderator

  33. SRE moderated by costs • Transparent costing (TC) based on reported indirect costs and the effort of staff directed towards ACG research (staff survey) • UWA reported 50% of time spent on research and 26% of time spent on ACG research activity • Total indirect costs at UWA = $276.8M; ACG indirect costs 26% of $276.8M = $72.0M; ACG indirect costs/ACG income = $72.0M/$84.1M = 85.6 cents in the dollar • TC moderator

  34. SRE threshold 2 funding • Two pools: Share of ACG income x TC moderator = Share of TC pool Share of ACG income x Ei moderators = Share of Ei pool • One pool: Share of ACG income x TC moderator x Ei moderator = Share of total pool • Ei could be share of research outputs in FORs rated 3,4 or 5 as a proportion of total research outputs

  35. Overview • Context • Competitive Grant Funding - Constructing a research budget - Infrastructure and full costing - Cost versus price • Block Grant funding - SRE, ERA and transparent costing • Roles and responsibilities

  36. Roles and responsibilities • Research Grants Office: - Opening PGs to accept funds - Preparing financial schedules as per contracts - Notifying CIs/school managers/finance officers - Invoicing funds as per contract - Preparing financial statements - Audits as required

  37. Roles and responsibilities • Business Unit: - Day to day management of the research PG - Ensuring expenditure according to terms & conditions (NHMRC has issued an eligible direct costs schedule) - Providing regular updates to CIs on expenditure & balances - Ensuring other income is not invoiced to research PG - Notifying RGO when milestones are complete to initiate invoices - Notifying RGO of any changes, variations or extensions

  38. Further information • Internal guidelines (http://www.research.uwa.edu.au/staff/applying-for-funding) • Contacts (http://www.research.uwa.edu.au/staff/contact) QUESTIONS ?

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