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Research Operations Office

 

Published on 7 October 2022


Deadline for Completing Timesheets

UKRI Terms & Conditions require that all timesheets must be signed by both the 'Employee' and by the 'Approver' within 2 months of the end of the timesheet period.

From 1st July 2022, monthly timesheets of part funded DI staff need to be uploaded regularly to your Department’s SharePoint Library. This can be done either by using the Microsoft Form to submit your timesheet or you can manually upload timesheets.

Whilst the new system of authorising and storing timesheets is bedding in, UKRI have indicated that they will offer some flexibility during this initial period regarding timesheets that are currently being processed. This means that if there has been a small delay in completing the timesheet, UKRI will allow some leniency.

Please submit all your July timesheets to the SharePoint library as soon as possible.

Note that if the online submission does not work at this time for some approvers, a pdf of the timesheet can be signed and dated electronically e.g. with jpg signatures or printed and hand signed/scanned and then loaded up manually to the library. This method can also be used for all historic timesheets.

Instructions about how to submit a timesheet using MS Forms and how to upload timesheets manually into the SharePoint library can be found on the SharePoint "How do I" page.

 

Audit Recommendations and Funder Terms & Conditions

Following the Funding Assurance Programe (FAP) audit by UKRI, recommendations were made regarding procurement procedures and flight costs.

  • Procurement - departments should ensure that for each award, funder’s terms and conditions for the procurement process are met, even though these requirements may sometimes be different to the University’s standard procurement processes.
  • Flights - departments to ensure that air travel should be economy class for short or medium haul flights and premium economy for long haul flights. Any exceptions should follow the University’s travel policy as well as UKRIs T&Cs and consideration given to the best use of public funds. Any exceptions should be clearly justified and documented with a clear written audit trail.

Further details about these areas were presented at the RGUG meeting on 29th September and the slides and recording are available on the ROO website

 

Official Development Assistance (ODA) Allocation

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has confirmed an additional Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocation to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for the financial year of 2022 to 2023. 

The University has been allocated funding and details of the internal call will be launched w/c 17 October 2022 to include guidance, eligibility, proposal form, funding and FAQs. Further details will be available on the ROO website once the call is open.

 

Wellcome Trust Organisation Spend Report – Departmental Expenditure Checks

An Organisational Spend Report (OSR) is submitted quarterly to the Wellcome Trust (WT) by the Research Operations Office (ROO) for the months of March, June, September and December. Before ROO submits the next OSR, please could Departments check and verify all their WT expenditure on CUFS and make any amendments before the September 2022 General Ledger period closes.

If you have any queries, please contact Sarah.Saemian@admin.cam.ac.uk

 

Third-party Credit Risk

Due to the current financial climate and its potential impact on funders of research grants, departments should consider their exposure to any credit risks from their portfolio of research funding organisations that do not fall under the category of; research councils, UK government agencies or established charity bodies. Tools like Tableau may help with this overview.

Departments are encouraged to refer their critical third-party funders (organisations that do not fall into the categories above) to the Finance Shared Services division for an updated credit report, please email FINcreditcontrol.admin.cam.ac.uk. Critical third parties are those which could have a major disruptive impact on the Department and the University if that funder were to face financial difficulties.

 

RGUG Meeting 29th September 2022 - recording and presentations now available

Thank you to those who were able to attend the Research Grants User Group Meeting (RGUG) on 29th September. The recording and slides are now available to view to the ROO website. The meeting included presentations on Transforming Research Support, UKRI audit outcomes including timesheets and Horizon Europe Updates.

The next RGUG meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 22nd November 2022 at 11:15am. If you have any queries, please contact Hannah.Pawson@admin.cam.ac.uk

 

Reminder - Horizon Results Booster Event for H2020 PIs, 3rd November 2022

The EU and International Team together with Cambridge Enterprise are organising an online information event on 3rd November about the Horizon Results Booster (HRB) for Horizon 2020 Projects at the University. Horizon Results Booster (HRB) is an initiative of the European Commission which aims to support projects funded by the EU Framework Programme (FP) to help innovations go to market and maximise their impact.

The HRB offers free capacity building services to any closed or ongoing research projects funded by FP7, Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe programmes. It is not affected by the current uncertainty over the UK’s association to Horizon Europe.

The agenda for the event on 3rd November includes developing an effective business plan, pitching to potential investors and training in innovation management. There will also be parallel sessions for MSCA, ERC or other Collaborative Projects which you can join depending on your own project. Further details are available on the ROO website.

If you would like to attend the 3rd November online event as an H2020 PI, please e-mail HRBevent@admin.cam.ac.uk and we will contact you about how to register. The closing date for registration is 13th October.

 

Work for Us

We have a number of vacancies at the Research Office, further details can be found on our jobs page.

 

Open Access: Where Next?

You are warmly invited to take part in ‘Open access: where next?’, a symposium to challenge the status quo and imagine new futures in academic publishing.

Many researchers are dissatisfied with the current system of publishing and rewards, but it is not yet clear what feasible alternatives could dominate instead. Open access is becoming the norm, and offers many benefits, but is it fulfilling the initial promises of fairness and inclusivity – across disciplines and across the globe?

What would you like the future of academic publishing to look like? It’s time to be bold so we can take action to create that future.

Hosted by Cambridge University Libraries and taking place in the beautiful surroundings of Homerton College, 18 November 2022, 9am-5pm. Explore the full programme and book your place (free to current members of the University)