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Research Operations Office

 

Published on 3 October 2014


Research Administrators Programme 2015

The Research Operations Office is embarking on a new round of our ROOTS (Research Operations Office Training Strategy) Tier 2 (2015) Research Administrators Programme.

We invite submissions from all staff who play an active role in the Grants Lifecycle and Research Contracts process within the University and who have been in post for a minimum of six months.

The Programme will run over six months on the following dates in 2015 -

  • Tuesday 24 February
  • Tuesday 17 March
  • Tuesday 14 April
  • Tuesday 12 May
  • Tuesday 9 June
  • Tuesday 7 July

Delegates will need to be available for all six sessions.

Application Process

  1. Complete the Expression of Interest Form which has been emailed to your Departmental Administrator and requires their endorsement.
  2. Email the form to Debbie.West-Lewis@admin.cam.ac.uk by 22 October 2014.
  3. The final 15 will be chosen by the Assistant Directors within the Research Operations Office and candidates will be informed if they have place by 12 November 2014.

If you have any other queries or require an expression of interest form, please contact Debbie.West-Lewis@admin.cam.ac.uk

Full Economic Costing and Income Allocation Policy briefing sessions

As part of the Research Operations Office Training Strategy (ROOTS) and co-presented by Finance the following sessions are scheduled for:

  • Thursday 9 October, 2pm - 3:30pm. Room 7, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms
  • Repeated Wednesday 15 October, 9:30am - 11am. Room FW26, William Gates Building, Computer Lab, 15 J J Thomson Avenue, West Cambridge

The briefing is relevant to all staff involved in research grants, particularly those new to the University or wishing to increase their understanding of University policy and its impact on research grants. Content includes:

  • Clarity on definitions of Direct costs and Indirect costs
  • What the PI should be aware of at application stage
  • What information might the Head of Department need to know before approving the application
  • What questions the Departmental Administrator may ask before submitting the application
  • How the Income Allocation Policy apportions overheads between the Department and the University

This briefing is about the theory to costing a project and the University’s policies which may affect pricing, it is not a practical training session on how to use X5.

No need to book for this event, please just turn up.

Research Grants User Group (RGUG) – 16 October 2014

RGUG is a forum led by the Research Operations Office where research grant administration issues and developments are discussed. The next RGUG meeting will take place on Thursday 16 October, 9:30am in Room 1, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms and will include discussions on ResearchFish and Pathways to Impact. The meeting is open to anyone with an interest in grants administration. 

RCUK Sanction Statement & Researchfish Workshops

You will be aware that from September 2014 all Research Councils will use Researchfish to report research outcomes. RCUK have now clarified that sanctions will be imposed for non-compliance.

Sanctions include -

  • A researcher will be unable to apply for further awards from any Research Council (either as a Principle Investigator or Co-Investigator).
  • If the award is still current, payments for that award may be withheld.

Full details of RCUK’s policy can be found here

http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/RCUK-prod/assets/documents/research/OFFICIALRCUKRFrequirementsandsanctions.pdf

 

The Research Council’s 2014 collection period will run from 16 October to 13 November.

Each Department will manage the submission process locally using the new ‘Research Node’ functionality in Researchfish.

To assist PIs and Departmental Administrators in using the software, ResearchFish will be delivering workshops on Monday 20 October to demonstrate the system. There will be separate sessions for PIs/their delegates and another for Departmental Administrators. The PI session will include a demonstration of how to add outputs, submit data and Q&A. The Departmental Administrator session will include a demonstration of how to track submissions, download submitted data and Q&A.

The sessions are scheduled for -

Clinical School Seminar Room 2

 ¦9am - 10am: PIs & their delegates

 ¦10am – 11am: Departmental Administrators

 

Mill Lane Lecture Rooms, Room 6

 ¦12pm – 1pm: PIs & their delegates

 ¦1pm – 2pm: Departmental Administrators

Hauser Forum, West Cambridge

 ¦3pm – 4pm: PIs & their delegates

 ¦4pm – 5pm: Departmental Administrators

To register your place, please e-mail anna.barham@admin.cam.ac.uk indicating which session you would like to attend as spaces are limited.

 

 

De-Mystifying Audits Workshop – 19 November 2014

The Research Operations Office (ROO) will be running a workshop on De-Mystifying Audits on Wednesday 19 November, 9:30am – 11:30am at 16 Mill Lane.

The session is aimed at Administrators who are involved with research grants that require audits and will be led by Charles Shannon the Audit and Compliance Manager. Topics include

Key elements that make a good audit

  • The importance of timesheets
  • Implications of getting it wrong
  • Your role in preparing for an audit
  • ROO’s role in preparing for an audit
  • Q&A

To book your place e-mail Debbie.West-Lewis@admin.cam.ac.uk. Please note there are limited spaces.