Master-class:  Strategies for securing your first major research funding

MASTER-CLASS:  

STRATEGIES FOR SECURING YOUR FIRST MAJOR RESEARCH FUNDING

Full Economic Costing

OR fEC

OR fEC

Justification of Resources

Bethan LewisExternal Funding Officer

Medicine and Arts & Humanities

Justification of Resources• Aid reviewers to decide whether resources are appropriate

• Fully explain expenditure

– Who, Why, What, Where, When & How

• RCUK Attachment – up to 2 sides of A4

• Provide a detailed breakdown

• Bullet point

• Separate budget for each collaborator

• Cross council guidance

JoR – Common Pitfalls

Common Pitfalls• Costs stated in the JeS form are not fully justified in the JoR

e.g. investigator time

• Costs / descriptions stated in the JeS form do not match those in the JoR

• Costs in the JoR which are not in the JeS form and vice versa.

• Poor or unclear justifications of why an item is needed

• PI time includes supervision of PhD students

Thank you

b.j.lewis@swansea.ac.uk

IMPACT

• Overview

• Why are we interested in Impact• What do we mean by Impact• ‘Pathways to Impact’• Summary

• Why?

• Now a critical part of all RCUK application• Increasingly important to other funders• REF impact stories

• RCUK View

• Accountability – value for money• Quality – improved if beneficiaries are engaged• Maximise – reduced time to / increase benefits• Reputation – increase UK’s attractiveness

• Make case for increased Funding!

• What is ‘Impact’?

• Economic and Societal Impact– Impact – extremely diverse

• Fostering economic performance• Increasing effectiveness of public services and policy• Enhancing quality of life, health and creative output

• Pathways to Impact (PTI)

• Important document– Consider extension of the Case for Support

• Primary Criterion – scientific excellence– BUT

• Empirical evidence – poor PTI = lower overall score

• Pathways to Impact

• WHO the beneficiaries are• HOW (and WHY) they will benefit• WHAT will be done by WHO (and WHERE) to

ensure the benefits are derived.• WHEN will the benefits occur.• Resources

• Pathways to Impact

• Activities– Project specific– Appropriate

• Commercialisation– Some activities and associated costs can be included

• But not patent costs

• Common Problems

• Vagueness, lack of specificity and clear deliverables.• Activities are not project specific, but routine activities

for University research posts.• Too much focus on track record rather than what will

be done as part of this research project.• Lack of consideration of broader beneficiaries, likely

impacts and appropriate mechanisms. • Activities narrowly and end of project focused.

• Good Practice

• Good consideration of the relevant beneficiaries, user needs and tailored activities.

• Clear description of deliverables and milestones.• Involvement of beneficiaries and users from the outset.• Clear commitment for realising both academic and non-

academic research impacts.• Briefly noted track record for knowledge exchange and impact

generating activities in the context of the specific research

project.

• Examples

• “The PDRA will be seconded to the two key commercial project partners (Companies X & Y) for up to one month per year per company for the duration of the project to ensure that the energy saving technological developments and associated know-how are transferred and embedded appropriately. Activities will include keeping stakeholders up to date concerning project progress, preparation of reports, training materials and operational manuals, staff training sessions and advising on necessary hardware modifications. The PDRA has previously worked as an industrial process engineer and therefore has a demonstrable track record and proficiency in up-skilling and knowledge transfer of this nature. It is expected that the project partners will begin to benefit from efficiency savings from year three but with the greatest gains being made once the technology is optimised in year five. The overall target is to reduce the companies’ energy consumption by 20% within five years of the project’s end.”

• Summary

• Why are we interested in Impact• What do we mean by Impact• ‘Pathways to Impact’

• Impact Resources

UK Research Office• Based in Brussels • Facilitates UK participation in EU research,

innovation and HE programmes• Sponsored by 7 UK Research Councils• Subscriptions from over 140 research organisations*• Research Council policy work• Brussels liaison• For more information see www.ukro.ac.uk

UK

Res

earc

h O

ffic

e

UKRO’s ServicesU

K R

esea

rch

Off

ice

‘Core’ subscriber* services Open to non-subscribers

Query service (Majority of) training courses and information events

Annual briefing visits

(for UK subscribers)

Annual Conference

UKRO Portal:Subscriber webpages

+ Latest news articles (email alerts)www.ukro.ac.uk

Marie Curie Actions

UK National Contact Point

European Research Council

UK National Contact Point

Meeting room in Brussels British Council

European RTD Insight publication

* Subscribing institutions: http://www.ukro.ac.uk/aboutukro/Pages/subscribers.aspx

Proposed Horizon 2020 StructureD

evel

opm

ent

of H

oriz

on 2

020

Dev

elop

men

t of

Hor

izon

202

0

Excellent Science Base•European Research Council (ERC)•Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)•Marie Curie Actions•Research Infrastructures

Industrial Leadership and Competitive Frameworks•Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies:

• ICT; Nanotechnologies; Advanced Materials; Biotechnology; • Advanced Manufacturing and Processing; and Space

•Access to risk finance•Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

Tackling Societal Challenges•Health, demographics changes and well being•Food security, sustainable agriculture marine and maritime research •and the bio-economy•Secure, clean and efficient energy•Smart, green and integrated transport•Climate action and resource efficiency including raw materials•Inclusive, innovative and secure societies

European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)

Joint Research Centre (JRC) Euratom (2014-2018)

UK Research OfficeSwansea University UKRO contact

Edward Heelas UKRORue du Trône 4B-1000 Brussels, BelgiumTel.: 0032 2 230 5275 / 1535Fax: 0032 2 230 4803Email: ukro@bbsrc.ac.ukURL: http://www.ukro.ac.uk

UK

Res

earc

h O

ffic

e

DRI Pre award contact points

• Chris Beynon, External Funding Officer for Business and Economics, Law, and Science, Tel: 01792 29 5015 Email: c.beynon@swansea.ac.uk

• Bethan Lewis, External Funding Officer for Medicine, Arts and Humanities, Tel: 01792 60 6895 Email: b.j.lewis@swansea.ac.uk

• Adrian Walters, External Funding Officer for Engineering, Human and Health Science, Tel: 01792 51 3724 Email: a.s.walters@swansea.ac.uk

• Debbie Saunders, European Funding Officer & Marie Curie Tel: 01792 60 2094 Email: d.e.f.saunders@swansea.ac.uk

• Julie Williams, Senior External Funding Officer & Head of Pre Award, Tel: 01792 29 5824 Email: j.williams@swan.ac.uk

• 01792 295992 or email researchandinnovation@swansea.ac.uk

• You have the money…….now what are the strings?

• E.12.14 Account Monitoring• It is the responsibility of the investigator/project manager to 

monitor the expenditure on the research or project account.• Sponsor terms and conditions• Burden can be shared by Project Manager (often is the PI), RAs, 

Finance Manager, Administrators – ideal team!• DRI will facilitate and support • https://intranet.swan.ac.uk/FinancialTransactionReport/

• What is my responsibility in terms of financial management?

• To fully utilise the project budget on appropriate expenditure (ELIGIBLE – as defined in the CONTRACT t & c) within a given timeframe and sometimes to a given time profile .e.g. quarterly period.

• To maintain a comprehensive and auditable trail of financial records, e.g. spreadsheet

• Maintain a project file, award letter, Staff contracts, copies of claims.

• EVIDENCED – keep the paperwork…good filing system!• REPORT to sponsor at MILESTONES• Deliver the OUTPUTS within TIMESCALE and on BUDGET

• What are my key financial administration tasks?

• MONITOR expenditure against BUDGET, monthly or quarterly• PLAN a budget PROFILE• REVIEW variances between Actual spend and Budget spend• REPORT significant variances, take corrective action and alert

Sponsor if necessary• CLAIM the grant or ensure INCOME is invoiced (must be project

related – don’t use project code as a bank!)• Do not use the Financial code as a bank for non project related

cash or expenditure

• The basic components of  a BUDGET and terminology

• Typically, the budget is outlined in the award letter or financial annexe to a contract

• Direct costs (the part you spend and control) , Indirect costs and Income• Direct costs: Usually Staff (N.I. and Pension included) and Non-staff• Typically, Staff budgets are split across Academic, Administrators, RA’s,

Clerical and Technical Support• Staff often includes Studentships• Non-Staff; Equipment, Travel and Subsistence, Consumables, Office, Tuition

Fees, Other costs• Indirect costs:- Overheads (fEC terms include directly allocated, Estates,

Infrastructure Technicians and Other Indirect)• Grant income and other sources of income

• Budget ExampleBudget Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Actual Budget Variance

£ £ £ £as at Year 2 profile

STAFFProject Manager 65000 15000 25000 25000 45000 40000 5000Administrator 15000 5000 5000 5000

NON-STAFFEquipment 15000 15000 10000 5000Travel 13000 5000 5000 3000Office consumables 8000 2000 3000 3000

Total DIRECT 116000 42000 48000 41000

OVERHEADS - FecPI time 45000 15000 15000 15000Estates 15000 5000 5000 5000Other 9000 3000 3000 3000

Total INDIRECT 69000 23000 23000 23000

Total Budget 185000 65000 71000 64000

Profile

• Budget ExampleBudget Year 1 Year 2 Year 3£ £ £ £

Total DIRECT 116000 42000 48000 41000

Total INDIRECT 69000 23000 23000 23000

Total Budget 185000 65000 71000 64000

Funded by INCOME :-

Sponsor at 80% 148000University 37000

Total INCOME 185000£

Cash contribution from activity:- Sponsor cash 148000less DIRECT costs 116000

Cash contribution 32000 Cash VIABLE