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 Lewis External 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

CostJustification needed Directly Incurred Staff – RA/Technician Why is a researcher needed? What level? For how long? Travel & SubsistencePurpose of visit? How many people travelling? Where are they going? For how long? Equipment > 10K - £135,668Why is it needed? Evidence that use of existing capital assets has been considered. Proposed institution contribution. OtherWhat has been requested &why? Full breakdown of all costs. ImpactJustify any costs associated with delivering pathways to impact. Directly Allocated Investigators - PI/Co-I PI & Co-I time, not salary level. Time for staff management, oversight of project, undertaking actual research, liaising with partners etc. Other DA - research facilities Need for use of facility & time spent, not costing basis Exceptions PhD Students Why is a PhD student needed? Likelihood of thesis?

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

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 RCUK EPSRC ESRC AHRC NERC BBSRC Je-S

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 UK Research Office

UKRO’s Services UK Research Office ‘Core’ subscriber* servicesOpen 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 ( alerts) Marie Curie Actions UK National Contact Point European Research Council UK National Contact Point Meeting room in BrusselsBritish Council European RTD Insight publication * Subscribing institutions:

Proposed Horizon 2020 Structure Development of Horizon 2020 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 ( )

UK Research Office Swansea University UKRO contact Edward Heelas UKRO Rue du Trône 4 B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Tel.: / 1535 Fax: URL: UK Research Office

DRI Pre award contact points Chris Beynon, External Funding Officer for Business and Economics, Law, and Science, Tel: Bethan Lewis, External Funding Officer for Medicine, Arts and Humanities, Tel: Adrian Walters, External Funding Officer for Engineering, Human and Health Science, Tel: Debbie Saunders, European Funding Officer & Marie Curie Tel: Julie Williams, Senior External Funding Officer & Head of Pre Award, Tel: or

You have the money… ….now what are the strings? E.12.14Account 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

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 Example Profile

Budget Example