Published on 7 May 2021
Research Grants User Group Meeting – Thursday 13th May 2021
The next Research Grants User Group (RGUG) meeting with take place as a live event on Thursday 13th May 2021 at 11:15am. The agenda will include updates about Improvements to the Contracts Process, the Strategic Procurement and Purchasing project as well as the Costing & Pricing review. Here is the Live Event link to join the meeting.
Research Grant Expenditure Guidance
Award holders, project administrators and departmental support staff need to understand funder and university requirements when managing research grant funding. New guidance is available from the Research Operations Office which includes
- how to identify ineligible costs
- tools to help you monitor spend
- reporting expenditure variances to the funder
The guidance is available in two formats: for Award Holders and Administrators. If you have any queries, please contact your Research Support Team.
Increased EPSRC Support for Research Equipment
EPSRC is increasing the funding it provides for grant holders’ procurement of scientific and other equipment, changing the FEC Requirement on equipment costs from 50% to 80%. (Equipment costs refer to individual items of equipment with a total cost, including VAT of between £10k and £400k) . By raising the FEC contribution for capital costs, EPSRC aims to support applicants in securing co-funding from the host institution, providing further support for equipment on projects.
This increase in support will initially be for a period of 12 months from 1 April 2021. The change will apply to any proposals going to panel after 1 April through Standard Mode and Programme Grants, Fellowships and New Investigator Awards. EPSRC will also include any applications received through strategic calls where equipment is a legitimate request and the panel is after 1 April 2021. Any proposals assessed after 1 April that have not requested 80% equipment costs will be retroactively awarded funds at this level if successful.
EPSRC has prioritised support for this change from within its baseline World Class Labs capital budget; no additional money has been made available to EPSRC to support this change. Further details are available from the EPSRC website.