Published on 9 October 2020
X5 Upgrade Postponed
Due to technical difficulties during implementation, the upgrade of X5 which was scheduled to take place on Thursday 8th October has been postponed. Investigations into the issues are ongoing and an announcement will be made regarding a new upgrade date in due course. The following Research Office Systems are now available again: X5, ROO Portal and Research Dashboard. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.
New Funders Linked to Climate Change
As outlined by a notice published in the Reporter, the University has approved guidelines for governing the acceptability of donations and other external funding to the University in relation to climate change. It has agreed that it will not accept funding from sources where to do so would be incompatible with its best interests and its commitment to address climate change through a transition to a zero‑carbon world.
In practical terms, this means that any new funded activity with fossil fuel companies and extractive industries will need to be referred to the Committee of Benefactions and External Legal Affairs (CBELA) for review. The due diligence team will help support all submissions in this area. Please contact ROOduediligence@admin.cam.ac.uk at the earliest opportunity when any prospective funding opportunities have been identified in this area.
Timesheets for Furloughed Staff
For staff that have been furloughed, please ensure that time records (timesheets or declaration of exclusivity) reconcile with the period the individual is being furloughed and meet the general requirements of time records as set out below -
- to provide evidence of the reality of the costs i.e. the ‘actual hours’ worked on the project
- have to show the actual (i.e. real) total productive hours worked and should also record unproductive time
- (productive) working time is the total number of hours and excludes holidays, personal time, sick leave or other allowances
- all hours claimed must be able to be verified in a reliable manner
- timesheets need to be completed and authorised in a timely manner (monthly)
- timesheets must be reconcilable with the absences for holidays, illness, travel or other
Compliance with all of the above requirements can potentially be checked by auditors to ensure that timesheets are completed accurately and timely. Further details can be found on audit pages of the ROO website If you have any queries, please contact Sara.Hajnassiri@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Payment of Article Processing Charges for Making your Papers Open Access
Is your research funded by any of the following bodies?
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Blood Cancer UK
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British Heart Foundation
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Cancer Research UK
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Parkinson’s UK
- Versus Arthritis
- Wellcome Trust
If so, the way your article processing charges (APCs) are met is changing. The funders listed above formed the Charity Open Access Fund (COAF), which dissolved on 30 September 2020. From 1 October 2020, there are changes to the way these particular funders provide grants to the University’s Open Access (OA) Team. As a result, the OA Team has changed its policies on whether or not they can cover researchers’ APCs. From now on, authors should continue to submit their papers to the OA Team as usual via the OA website. The team will continue to advise you on the best course of action to meet funder requirements, but may not always be able to pay APCs.
Please refer to the guidelines on securing funding for APCs from 1 October. Although there is no change in the funders’ open access policies for the rest of 2020, there are significant changes due from 1 January 2021 and authors covered by Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK specifically are advised to familiarise themselves with the forthcoming changes to their funder’s open access policies.