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'Successfully Managing a Research Award'. Managing Budgets and Reporting 27 th October 2011. FINANCE RESEARCH TEAM. Team of 5 looking after approximately 400 live projects. James Allman – Manager Ian Bailey – (ISTM Hartshill) Anne Budgen – (EPSAM & ISTM Huxley)
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'Successfully Managing a Research Award' Managing Budgets and Reporting 27th October 2011
FINANCE RESEARCH TEAM • Team of 5 looking after approximately 400 live projects. • James Allman – Manager • Ian Bailey – (ISTM Hartshill) • Anne Budgen – (EPSAM & ISTM Huxley) • Carla Vardy - (PCHSc, Humanities) • Tracy Armstrong - (Soc Sci)
ADMINISTRATION OF RESEARCH GRANTS • Pre award stages • Discuss proposed application with RI manager • FEC costings prepared on PFACT system • Salary costings to Finance for approval • Enter costings onto application form • Submit application to RI Director • University submits application to funding body
ADMINISTRATION OF RESEARCH GRANTS • Post award stages • Offer letter/notification received by Research Services • Research Services generates ERF form • ERF form received by Finance • Code notification form sent to PI and RI Manager • Project is confirmed for operation
DISCUSS PROPOSED APPLICATION WITH RI MANAGER • Directly Incurred costs • Staff costs – Research Assistant, Technician, Fellow, visiting researcher • Travel & subsistence • Equipment (less than £50k) • Consumables • Books • Survey Fees • Publication costs • Licences • Recruitment & Advertising
DICSUSS PROPOSED APPLICATION WITH RI MANAGER • Directly Allocated Costs • Principle investigators time • Co-investigators time • Estates costs
DISCUSS PROPOSED APPLICATION WITH RI MANAGER • Indirect Costs (Overheads) • General office and laboratory consumables • Secretarial • Central and distributed services • Cost of capital employed • Note any unfunded balance covered from Indirect Costs • Financial benefit to the University
DISCUSS PROPOSED APPLICATION WITH RI MANAGER • Exceptional costs • Project studentships • Large equipment (more than £50k)
FINANCE INVOLVEMENT Pre-Award • Check with Finance for VAT implications • For all applications submitted via pFact, Finance will check the salary costings where salary costs >£50k • Inflation rates • Increment dates • Grades and points Finance request a 2 DAY notice period for checking of a final pFact file
FINANCE INVOLVEMENT Post Award • Act upon receipt of an ERF (External Funding Agreement Form) • Allocate an “R” code & enter basic grant details into our database • Set up the ledger codes – i.e. to allow you to spend from your grant • Issue a “Code Notification Form” to PI & RI Manager
FINANCE INVOLVEMENT Post Award • Load the budget into system • Use an Automated Diary system to monitor the grant & to flag up important deadlines: • Start certificate • Claims due to be completed • Raise invoices to the sponsor • Financial statement deadlines - & for Research Council grants, PI Final Report deadlines to avoid any sanctions
FINANCE INVOLVEMENT Post Award • Confirm to HR that funding for staff is available for new appointments or extensions • Provide reports / guidance to PI’s / RI Managers upon request. Level of support depends on type of grant. • Close grants down shortly after end dates • Important note, for Research Council grants it is not permissible to incur expenditure on a grant after the end date (Keele may be required to return unspent funds to the sponsor)
FINANCE INVOLVEMENT Post Award • Prepare any financial reports required • Raise any claims / invoices required to the sponsor • Liaise with sponsor regarding financial issues • Provide support for project extension requests
DIFFERENT SPONSORS • Variety of different sponsors, each have their own rules but key principals remain the same. • Important to read terms and conditions very carefully • EU grants – timesheets required, Keele has procedures in place to protect against £ $ fluctuations. • University has services of Martin Pickard, a consultant specialising in EU funding.
AUDITS • Individual grants can be subject to audits by the sponsor • Grant sponsors can send in auditors to review a number of grants provided by that sponsor • A selection of grants are reviewed each year by the University’s external auditors
How you can help Finance • Pre award, allow time for costings (including salaries) to be checked • Agree a profile of the budget of your grant once it has been awarded - & notify finance. • Keep finance informed of any problems/delays to start dates/extensions etc on your grant – preferably copy in your finance contact on important e-mails regarding the project administration. • Spend as planned!
Any Questions????? Contact Details: Email: j.r.allman@fin.keele.ac.uk Tel: (7)34389