Q. Will an X5 costing be expected?
No, the ROO no longer expects the Department to provide a detailed costing of the Donation in X5. However, it is always advisable for the Department to use the X5 as a costing tool so that it can truly understand, for its own accounting purposes, if the research being funded using the donation reflects the true cost of the research being undertaken.
Q. What overheads will apply?
As for other donations, an equivalent to the Indirect Central Charge (ICC) will be levied on staff costs. The charge will vary according to the School and can be up to 30%. The charge will be made via CUFS.
Q. What about Donations for Research that fall under the £100k threshold for Vice-Chancellor approval – can these be channelled through the Grants module?
All donations to be treated as research grants must be routed through CUDAR in the first instance. Note that if any philanthropic gift falls below the £100k threshold for VC approval, and is accepted directly by the department, it is good practice for the department to notify CUDAR of the amounts received so that they can be added to the record of the University’s charitable donations.
Q. What if a donation is given for unrestricted University purposes, given that one main purpose is research, is this eligible?
No. If the donation could be used for either research or teaching then no, this is not specific enough to be counted as research income and must be treated as all other donations.
Q. Will the research grant be set up by time period of project or time period of payments received?
If the donation is to be split into, for example, three annual payments, then the grant will be set up for the amounts received on a yearly basis, in the same way as some research grants are set up when funding is confirmed annually (e.g. CRUK and NIH awards). Another reason for doing this is that the commitment to pay is less enforceable for a donation than it is for a grant received under contract and so the risk is greater.
Q. How will the research grant be identified on CUFS as a donation for research?
A new field type will be available under Award Type on CUFS, called ‘Donation for Research’.
Q. Can a donation for research be invested in CUEF units?
In exceptional circumstances, a donation for research could be invested in endowment fund units. This will need to be discussed and agreed in advance with CUDAR.