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Research Operations Office

 

Published on 28 April 2023


UK Government’s Guarantee Funding Guidance - updated 17th April 2023

The UK Government’s guarantee funding covers successful Horizon Europe applications submitted to calls with a final submission deadline date on or before 30 June 2023. This assumes that the grant agreement with the European Commission or delegated party cannot be signed because the UK’s association has not been formalised in time and therefore cannot receive funding.

In the latest updates from 17th April 2023, the following changes have been made -

  • prizes defined as out of scope
  • international tuition fees are now allowable costs on all guarantee grants
  • open access costs are chargeable to guarantee grants
  • guarantee grants are expected to adhere to Horizon Europe open access policy
  • parental leave for MSCA guarantee grants will be covered by additional funding streams

To be eligible for the UK governments Horizon Europe funding guarantee applicants must apply for funding from the EU as “beneficiaries” and not as “Associated Partners”.

 

Applying for a Global Talent visa endorsement to take up the UKRI Government’s Guarantee Funding for Horizon Europe

If you have received a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship or ERC Grant in the 2021 or 2022 calls hosted in the UK, but don’t have a Grant Agreement (because you are submitting your grant details to UKRI in order to receive funding through the Horizon Europe Guarantee), you can submit the following documents with your Global Talent visa endorsement application:

1. for a MSCA Fellowship and ERC Grant - submit a copy of the European Research Executive Agency GAP invitation letter and a copy of the grant proposal (which contains your name)

2. if you already have confirmed funding from the UKRI Horizon Europe Guarantee - submit a copy of your UKRI Guarantee Offer Letter

See the Royal Society’s FAQs on the Global Talent visa for further information.  

 

UK Government’s draft plan for Pioneer

On 6th April 2023, the UK Government set out its prospectus programme called ‘Pioneer’. This is a programme to protect and support the UK research and innovation sector if the Government is unable to secure association to Horizon Europe on fair and appropriate terms.

Whilst the Government is still discussing association to Horizon Europe with the EU, and hoping the negotiations will be successful, they will implement Pioneer if required. Further details about Pioneer and its four key Pillars are now available.  

 

UKRI Grants - Final Expenditure Statement  

When a Final Expenditure Statement (FES) is due on an UKRI grant, Departments need to ensure that completed timesheets and an up to date tracker spreadsheet are moved to your Final SharePoint library. If there is a negative amount in the 'Percentage basis Over/(Under) evidenced costs' column, you should email ufs_grants@admin.cam.ac.uk as well as your Finance Analyst at the Research Office, with a link to the tracker file in the Final SharePoint library. This is so that unevidenced staff costs can be moved from Task 1 to Task 89.

Please refer to the guidance notes on the tracker spreadsheet and the Timesheets SharePoint site for further details.

 

Research Grants User Group Meeting – 11th May 2023

The next Research Grants User Group (RGUG) will take place as a Teams meeting on Thursday 11th May at 11:15am. The agenda will include information about UKRI and Wellcome’s new funding platforms, an update on Trusted Research and Export Control as well as feedback from recent audits. This is an open meeting for any staff with an interest in grants administration.

To join the RGUG meeting please use this link. If you have any queries contact Hannah.Pawson@admin.cam.ac.uk

 

Falling Walls Lab is coming to Cambridge – 21st June 2023

The Falling Walls Lab gives students and early-career professionals a chance to present their ground breaking research to win a spot at the Falling Walls Lab finale in Berlin in November 2023. Each candidate has 3 minutes to showcase a breakthrough that creates a positive impact on science and society. The jury, as well as the audience are going to vote for their favourite idea. 

Have a look at the Falling Walls Lab website for past winning presentations including Bo Peng from University of Cambridge. If you'd like to join the audience you will need to register. If you'd like to participate in the contest, you will need to apply by 14th May 2023.

More details are available on the Cambridge event website