Costing Research Projects - Basic Guide
Contents
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 2
COMPLETING A COSTING BUDGET ..................................................................................................... 2
Staff Cost ............................................................................................................................................................... 2
Estimating Principal Investigator (PI)/Co-investigator (CoI) time ............................................................................................... 3
Consultant Clinical Academics ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Research Assistants/Post-Doc Researchers ............................................................................................................................. 3
Visiting researchers .................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Student costs .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Staff that attract Estates and Indirect Costs ............................................................................................................................... 4
Staff that do not attract Estates and Indirect Costs .................................................................................................................... 4
Equipment Costs .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Student Fees ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Consumables ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
Travel and Subsistence ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Biological Services ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Management Costs for Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs) ................................. 6
UCL Major Research Facility or Small Research Facility................................................................................... 6
Other Costs (Directly Incurred) ............................................................................................................................ 6
Other Costs (Directly allocated)........................................................................................................................... 6
Estates costs ......................................................................................................................................................... 7
Indirect Costs ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
Exceptions............................................................................................................................................................. 7
VAT on projects .................................................................................................................................................... 7
1. Output (Sales) VAT................................................................................................................................................................. 8
2. Input (Purchase) VAT ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
Computing Resources .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Indexation .............................................................................................................................................................. 8
NHS TRUST FACILITIES AND SERVICES ............................................................................................. 8
UCL RESEARCH ETHICS ....................................................................................................................... 9
JUSTIFICATION OF RESOURCES ......................................................................................................... 7
CROSS DEPARTMENT RESEARCH GRANTS COSTING .................................................................... 9
RESEARCH GRANT AND CONTRACT APPLICATIONS WHERE UCL IS NOT THE LEAD PARTY .. 9
ANNEX 1 ................................................................................................................................................ 11
ANNEX 2 ................................................................................................................................................ 12
1
INTRODUCTION
This document is intended to offer basic guidance in costing research proposals. For more detailed
advice on any aspect of costing, please contact the appropriate Research Finance Officer (RFO) in the
Research Finance Unit (RFU).
Sufficient time needs to be allowed for departmental review of grant applications. Individual
departments have their own internal procedures and timeframes. It is therefore essential that academic
staff planning to submit a grant application contact their Departmental Administrator, Finance Officer,
Research Co-ordinator or Head of Department well before they undertake the application process.
Ensure you allow sufficient time for the submission process via Research Services. You should allow at
least 10 working days before the sponsors’ deadlines.
All research applications must be costed according to the principals of Full Economic Costing (fEC)
using the UCL costing tool pFACT regardless of whether the sponsor meets all the costs associated
with fEC. A detailed pFACT user guide can be found at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/secure/research/pre_award/pfact/pfact_howtoaccess.html
A brief Glossary of fEC Terms is shown at Annex 1.
Guidance describing the UCL procedures for various grants/contract applications can be found at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/secure/research/pre_award/grant_workflows.pdf
A more detailed description of how to submit your pFACT project costing for approval is also provided
under Annex 2.
COMPLETING A COSTING BUDGET
It is important to read your sponsor’s guidelines carefully to see what staff and costs are eligible for
inclusion in the grant application. When completing a costing you need to consider everything you
might need to undertake and deliver your research project. All projects must be costed using UCL’s
costing tool pFACT and approved by the Research Finance Unit.
The following items should be considered when costing a research proposal:
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Staff Cost
Equipment Cost
Non-Staff Cost
VAT on Projects
NHS Trust Facilities and Services
(Estates and Indirect Costs are automatically calculated by pFACT)
Staff Cost
The total cost of employing a member of staff on a research project should include the following
elements: basic salary, London Allowance, Employer’s National Insurance and superannuation
contribution, as well as yearly salary incremental progression. In addition provision for future pay
increases (where appropriate) and any anticipated future promotion should be costed.
Where discretionary points or promotion is anticipated during the lifetime of the project liaise with your
RFO contact for guidance on how to enter the additional information on pFACT.
Ensure you include the costs of all staff working on your project, for example:
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Existing academic staff (including your time, and your co-applicants’)
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Research assistants or other research staff
Administrative/secretarial support (add administrators to large projects)
Technical support
Project Studentships
Consultants
Replacement teaching costs
Casual staff
Support staff
Estimating Principal Investigator (PI)/Co-investigator (CoI) time
Investigators should include the estimates of time they will spend working directly on the project. More
detailed guidance and advice on how to estimate PI time can be found at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/secure/research/pre_award/pfact/pi_time.doc
You will need to take into consideration the fact that although a low estimate will make the
costing cheaper it could indicate a lack of commitment to the proposal. Feedback from
sponsors indicates that they do not consider artificially low-cost proposals to be either more
cost effective or attractive for funding.
UCL has implemented a system of banding for Directly Allocated professorial salaries (currently two for
non-clinical and one for clinical) rather than actual salaries. (Note: if your salary will be paid for directly
from the grant, the costs must be based on the actual salary and presented as a Directly Incurred cost).
Please refer to your RFO contact for guidance.
Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators and Fellows whose time and salaries are 100% funded from
other fEC research or fEC fellowship grants provided by the Research Councils should still indicate the
number of hours on the new proposal, but with zero salary/estate/indirect cost charged to the grant.
Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators whose time is not fully funded on other Research Council
grants, but who are not paid a salary by UCL (e.g. Emeritus or honorary staff) should indicate the
number of hours attributed to the proposal, but with a zero salary plus estate and indirect cost request.
Consultant Clinical Academics
When costing a new consultant clinical academic please contact the relevant Divisional Manager to
ascertain the individual's starting spine point and future progression points.
Contact details for Managers may be found on the relevant Division webpage.
Research Assistants/Post-Doc Researchers
It is important to contact HR to seek advice on the most appropriate grades for staff to be employed on
Research grants and contracts. The RFU can provide advice on costing and funders’ rules only. Refer
to HR website for grades: - http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr
Visiting researchers
Support may be requested to provide funding for senior scientists from the UK or overseas who are of
acknowledged standing to visit and work at UCL. Support may be requested for specified individual
visitors and general support for unspecified (usually short-term) visitors. The support requested should
be justified in the Case for Support. The funding can cover the costs of hosting visiting researchers,
including travel, subsistence and associated estates and indirect costs.
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Student costs
When costing a project student (typically a PhD student) you need to consider both the stipend costs
and the tuition fees. The stipend costs are entered under staff costs. The appropriate tuition fees
should be included under ‘Non-Staff Cost’ as Student Fees
. Check if the student is overseas or UK and use appropriate tuition fees rate. UCL’s schedule of tuition
fees can be obtained from the UCL Registry site.
Some sponsors have set a fixed contribution towards these costs. Some Research Councils e.g.
BBSRC and MRC do not fund students on all grants. Always check Terms and Conditions for eligibility
and costs. For more information on Research Studentship see the Research Services website.
Staff that attract Estates and Indirect Costs
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Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator
Researchers (i.e. Research Assistants (Grade 6B) /Fellows/Associates, Research Nurses,
Clinical Fellows, Support Staff satisfying the definition of “researcher” etc.)
Emeritus professors
Visiting staff from industry
Honorary Staff
Visiting Academics
Also see Definition of a researcher.
Staff that do not attract Estates and Indirect Costs
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Technical Services Staff undertaking support
Administrative Support Staff (Professional Services/Clerical Grades)
Equipment Costs
Funds for equipment1 may be sought as a directly incurred cost, provided that it is essential to the
effective conduct of the research and is not already at UCL. Equipment costs may cover the purchase
of equipment outright or in part, sharing across a number of projects where appropriate. Full justification
for equipment must be given.
Examples of equipment costs include:
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the costs of purchasing/hiring/relocating all necessary equipment
equipment fully dedicated to the research project e.g. computers and laboratory/workshop
equipment
major equipment spares
project dedicated software
equipment installation charges e.g. delivery, calibration, essential premises modifications e.g.
provision of clean rooms, extensions to air conditioning.
Where VAT is chargeable, all new equipment required for the project should be costed inclusive of VAT
at the appropriate rate. (For further information on VAT see UCL’s VAT Guidelines)
Check the sponsor’s definition of Equipment and also any special requirements.
1
For Research Council applications this means only equipment costs greater than £10,000 (any less than
£10,000 must be applied for under the Consumables heading). For equipment £10k to £121,588 the Research
Councils require a University contribution of at least 50%. Refer to RCUK Equipment Changes for further
guidance
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You should seek the advice of your Departmental Administrator/Finance Officer when completing this
part of your proposal. In all instances contact the Procurement Office.
In the case of purchases costing more than £50k discuss with the Head of Procurement ext. 41918 and
consult the Procurement Web site for UCL and EU rules.
Student Fees
Student fees should be recorded under this heading. UCL has standard rates for student fees available
from the UCL Registry site. However certain sponsors will have a limit to what they will pay – always
refer to sponsors Terms and Conditions.
Consumables
Costs to consider may include;
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Laboratory supplies
Computer sundries and small equipment
Test costs
Licences
Fees, including patient fees if applicable for clinical research
Project specific stationery, copying, postage, telephone, fax (only if directly supporting research,
for example questionnaire based study).2
Project specific specialist journals
Project specific courier costs
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It is essential that such costs are clearly described and justified in the justification for resources.
A list of products and suppliers can be found on Procurement Website.
Where VAT is chargeable, all consumables required for the project should be costed inclusive of VAT
at the appropriate rate. (For further information on VAT see UCL’s VAT Guidelines)
Travel and Subsistence
Travel and subsistence costs for journeys, conferences and workshops that are directly related to the
research project can be sought as a directly incurred cost. Standard fares should be quoted to include
taxes, parking costs, rail/taxi transfers from the airport (where applicable).
Costs to consider include;
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UK and Overseas travel
Subsistence Costs
Travel insurance
Conference fees
Staff and patient travel
The UCL approved travel supplier is available to assist in pricing the travel requirements.
Train Fares :
http ://www.thetrainline.com
Travel Expenses:
http ://www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/secure/finance_docs/finance_regs_ser/travel.html
Subsistence comprises accommodation in hotels, guesthouses etc. and meals
Travel Insurance :
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/finance/secure/fin_acc/insurance.htm
Biological Services
UCL Biological Services are classified as a UCL Major Research Facility and from now on entered as a
Directly Incurred cost. Biological services brought in from outside UCL are also Directly Incurred.
2 The words “project specific” must be entered in front of all these consumable costs headings in order to ensure
application is not returned for correction.
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If your project involves work with animals, you may need to consider the following:
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Animal purchase
Facility Hire, Equipment Hire, Consumables
Animal Maintenance
Statutory Fees (Personal Licenses, Ethical Review Process, Accredited Training Course
Modules)
Experimental procedures
Management Costs for Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs)
It is now mandatory that all UCL grant applications for clinical trials of medicinal products include a
costing for the clinical trial management support that is provided by the Joint UCLH/UCL Biomedical
Research Unit. You should now contact the Joint Unit (tel. 020 7380 6978) or email CTIMPs@ucl.ac.uk
for a costing to include in your grant application. The Joint Unit needs a minimum of 3 days to confirm
costings.
All clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (or CTIMPs) require a sponsor that must have
systems with procedures that assure the quality of every aspect of the trial and thus is able to take on
full accountability for the activities of the trial at all stages including setting up. It is crucial that CTIMP
proposals are identified at the earliest possible stage so that sponsorship arrangements can be clarified
and appropriate funding sought to enable the clinical trial to meet the demands of the clinical trials
regulations.
UCL Major Research Facility or Small Research Facility
For fEC purposes UCL is required to exclude the cost of research facilities from the estates and indirect
cost rates. When applying for research funding from Research Councils and Government Departments
the costs for accessing research facilities need to be charged separately on applications to these
sponsors. Therefore usage of UCL facilities must be costed on pFACT using the facilities option and
selecting the appropriate facility from the approved list.
Other Costs (Directly Incurred)
Costs of other items dedicated to the project including:
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Predicted costs of dissemination of research outputs e.g. publication in author-pays journals,
where these will be incurred during the period of the grant
Recruitment and advertising costs for staff directly employed on the project
Field work
Reprint/page charges
Computer costs dedicated to the project; e.g. specialist stationery supplies, software licences
not associated with central computing facilities;
Equipment related items (if not included as part of the Research Organisation’s estates costs),
e.g. maintenance; relocation. The case for support should describe the service being sought,
the usage and the basis of charging.
Purchase/hire of vehicles
Other Costs (Directly allocated)
These costs may include, for example, the costs of shared resources including:
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Estimated costs of laboratory technicians in academic departments
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All non-laboratory technicians, secretarial and computing staff who are part of a ‘staff pool’
supporting a range of facilities and projects
Access to central and distributed computing
Access to clean rooms
Maintenance of major research facilities
Estates costs
Estates costs are automatically calculated by pFACT and should be shown as a single figure (£ total for
the project). They do not need to be justified in the Case for Support.
Infrastructure Technician costs
Infrastructure Technician costs are automatically calculated by pFACT based on the FTE for
academic/research staff on the project. This cost is applied only to those Departments that have been
identified to have technicians which are involved in the general running of a laboratory. This cost should
be entered on the proposal as a single figure under the Directly Allocated – Infrastructure heading.
They do not need to be justified in the justification for resources.
Indirect costs
Indirect costs are automatically calculated by pFACT and should be shown in the proposal as a single
figure (£ total for the project). They do not need to be justified in the justification for resources.
Exceptions
This term is used by the Research Councils for Directly Incurred costs that will be funded in full (i.e. at
100%), subject to actual expenditure incurred. Usually these are student stipend and fees and
equipment costs in excess of £50,000.
Justification of Resources
All costs associated with the research project must be justified. This statement should be used to
justify the resources required to undertake the research project and is a mandatory addition. Applicants
should:
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Explain why the indicated resources are needed, taking account of the nature and complexity of
the research proposed. Note that it is not sufficient merely to list what is required.
Have regard for the breakdown of resources into the summary fund headings Directly Incurred,
Directly Allocated and (where appropriate) Exceptions.
In some cases, such as investigator time, use of internal facilities and shared staff costs (all
likely to be Directly Allocated costs), the basis of the costing need not be justified, but the need
for the resources does need justification.
Try to be explicit about the need for the level of investigator time sought, bearing in mind the
complexity of the research, the need to manage the project and supervise staff and any wider
considerations such as collaboration or facilities usage.
Estates and indirect costs do not need to be justified.
Justifying computer resources:
Any proposals requesting items that would ordinarily be found in a department for example nonspecialist computers, should include justification both for why they are required for the project and why
7
they cannot be provided from the research organisation’s own resources. The following text can be
included in the justification for resources:
'the computer is project specific because ...etc etc... or/and ... there are no other sources available to
fund this computer within the Department, UCL provides computers for established members of staff
from Departmental funding allocations (which include indirect costs) but NOT for new staff who are
recruited for specific research projects'
Please refer to the sponsor’s guidance notes for specific detail.
VAT on projects
There are two types of VAT
1. Output (Sales) VAT
Research projects for Research Councils, Government Departments and Charities are all VAT
exempt i.e. we do not charge VAT on the prices that we charge to these organisations.
Commercial Contracts are charged at the standard rate of VAT.
Non-UK based research is outside the scope of UK VAT, but local taxes may apply.
2. Input (Purchase) VAT
In general we have to pay VAT on all purchases of goods and services for research unless
there are special exceptions – see UCL’s ‘VAT Guidelines’ on the Finance website for more
information.
The main Zero-rated items are UK travel, printed matter for reading, equipment for use in medical
research, substances for use in medical research.
If in doubt about whether VAT is applicable, it is safer to include VAT in the application form and grant.
Computing Resources
The Computing Resource Group (CRAG) (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/researchcomputing/community/crag/index.html) must be consulted where access to UCL Research Computing
facilities is required as part of the research project.
Indexation
All costings should be at current prices, inclusive of VAT and other taxes where applicable. Check
sponsors terms and conditions for rules regarding inflation/indexation. All salaries are indexed by 4%
unless the Sponsor indicates it will not pay indexation or pays at a lower rate. If in doubt, add in. For
more information see Appendix A at pFACT User Guide.
NHS Trust Facilities and Services
Applications using NHS Trust facilities and services require approval of the relevant NHS Trust R&D
Office. These costs maybe nominal and therefore not generally included as part of the costing or the
application although some sponsors – e.g. MRC may need you to identify these costs as part of your
application.
If however there are costs you are requesting from the sponsor on behalf of the NHS Trust they should
be included as part of the application but NOT as part of the UCL pFACT costing. The relevant NHS
Trust will need to provide you with these costs for inclusion within the application.
Contacts:
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UCLH
- Nick McNally
Whittington Hospital - Senga Steel
Royal Free Hospital - Clara Kalu
020 7380 9833
020 8288 5674
020 7317 7557
UCL Research Ethics
All NON-NHS research proposals involving living human participants and the collection and/or study of
data derived from living human participants undertaken by UCL staff or students within the
geographical boundaries of UCL or elsewhere require ethical approval by the UCL Research Ethics
Committee. This is to ensure that the research conforms with general ethical principles and standards.
For details on the ethical review process and how to apply, please visit the website:
http://www.grad.ucl.ac.uk/ethics/ and/or contact the Ethics Committee Administrator about any issue
relating to research ethics: ethics@ucl.ac.uk.
Faculty Level Costing Procedures For Departments
All proposals involving more than one department within a Faculty at UCL have a choice to either
prepare:
a) one Faculty costing
OR
b) individual departmental costings
One Costing per Faculty
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The lead department must notify their RFO of a Faculty pFACT costing by typing “Faculty
Costing” in the “Project Name” before the title. Further relevant information such as the names
of the collaborating departments must be entered in the pFACT notes.
The lead department must coordinate and liaise with the collaborating departments for details of
all their staff and non-staff costs. These costs must be added to pFACT, indicating to which
department the costs apply.
The RFO will liaise with the Lead Department re any queries such as how staff are funded
The lead department’s RFO will be responsible for approving the pFACT costing
The lead department is responsible for obtaining HoD Approvals for all Departments involved.
NB: Authorisation of pFACT by HoD confirms authorisation has been received from all HoDs
The RFO will check the costings to ensure it conforms to the sponsors T&C’s.
Individual Department Costings
1.
2.
3.
4.
The lead department must notify their RFO of the pFACT project id of all other collaborating
departments. These id’s should be noted in “Project Name” before the title to alert the RFO.
Further relevant information must be entered in the pFACT notes e.g. collaborating institution
name, subcontracting party name.
The collaborating departments must liaise with their own RFO for approval. The lead id should
be noted in “Project Name” before the title to alert the RFO.
The lead RFO will ensure the total costings as a whole conform to the sponsors T&C’s.
The lead RFO will prepare a Joint Proposal spreadsheet containing all the combined costs to
the lead department to assist with completion of the application.
Research Grant and Contract Applications where UCL is NOT the Lead Party
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Pre-Award requirements and procedures with regard to research grant and contract applications where
the main application is being submitted through another organisation i.e. where UCL is NOT the lead
party:
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A pFACT costing is prepared and approved by the Research Finance Unit as per our normal
procedures.
A copy of the application is sent to the RFO contact - whether or not a UCL authorised signature
is required for the application to be submitted.
The RFO confirms (by email - where no signature is required) that the figures entered on the
application form are correct and, where relevant, are under the correct cost headings.
Please note failure to follow steps 2 and 3 in the process will cause significant delays for the allocation
of the account code when UCL is notified of our 'share' of the main award. In addition if the application
is not checked against the approved costing there is a risk that funds will be awarded under the
incorrect cost headings which will impact on the financial administration of the funds Post-Award.
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Annex 1
Glossary of fEC Terms
Term
Direct costs
Directly Incurred (DI) Costs
Directly Allocated (DA) Costs
Principal Investigator (PI) & Co-Investigator (CoI)
costs
Estates costs
Indirect Costs
Definition
Costs that are necessary for the delivery of the
project. These are split into Directly Incurred and
Directly Allocated costs.
Costs that are specific to the individual project.
These are charged directly to the project and are
supported by an audit record.
Costs necessary and directly attributable to the
project. These are generally shared across a
number of projects and are based on estimates
rather than actual costs. Investigator time, estates
costs and research facilities are generally the
major DA costs.
Costs associated with the PI and CoI time which
are directly attributable to the project. These are
normally presented as Directly Allocated costs.
(An important exception is in the case of
Fellowships where these costs are Directly
Incurred against the project).
Costs which cover the following: building and
premise costs, basic services and utilities,
cleaning/portering/security/safety, lease/rent/rates,
insurance etc.
Costs that are non-specific to an individual project
which are charged across all projects based on
estimates and not included under any other costs.
These include: Library services/learning
resources, Secretarial/typing, Finance, personnel,
public relations and departmental services,
Central computing costs and cost of capital
employed (includes redundancy costs)
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Annex 2
Procedure for submitting costs for approval
Step 1 - pFACT status ‘Draft’
PI/DA enters costs on pFACT in “Draft” status. NB Enter Project id (e.g. p2780) in subject matter of all
email correspondence.
Information which should be placed in pFACT:
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Sponsor’s Deadline Date (not department’s deadline)
Ensure email and contact number entered.
Sponsor’s Name and Proposal Name
Provide weblink for Sponsor’s T&C’s
Consumables should be broken down so that RFO can advise on DI/DA and justification.
For new staff entered on pFACT ensure an amount is entered in Max Spine Point otherwise
progression will not calculate all possible increments.
Enter important facts in pFACT email or notes.
PI/DA passes Costing to DA by changing status to “Request Dept Review”.
Step 2 – pFACT status ‘Request Department Review’
DA checks application, if correct passes application to RFU by changing status to “Request RFU
Approval”.
Step 3 – pFACT status ‘Request RFU Approval’
NOTE: A MINIMUM OF FIVE WORKING DAYS IS REQUIRED FOR THE COSTING TO BE
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY THE RFU.
The RFO checks and advises on the costing.
Amendments
If costing requires changes the application is returned by RFU to the DA through pFACT to “Request
Dept Review” to allow amendments to be made.
Approved Costing
Once a costing has been checked and approved by the RFU the costing is frozen, no further changes
can be made unless the project is sent back to the PI “Draft” or DA “Request Dept Review”. The
costing now requires the approval of the HOD or Dean. The RFU changes the status of the costing to
“Request HOD/Dean Approval” to allow approval
Step 4 – pFACT status “Request HOD/Dean Approval”
The Head of Department or Dean approves the costing by completing the additional fields section and
moving the costing to the “Approved by HOD/Dean” status. The approval of the Dean is only required
if the PI is the HOD or where recovery is less than 100% fEC in a commercial contract.
Step 5 - Finance details entered on Application
PI/DA produce appropriate submission reports from pFACT and enter financial figures from the reports
on to sponsors’ electronic or paper application. The pFACT number must be entered as the research
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organisation reference. Important Note: the application should reflect the figures on the pFACT
Submission Report.
The application is then forwarded electronically or manually to the RFU.
NOTE: THIS MUST BE ACTIONED AT LEAST TWO WORKING DAYS BEFORE THE DEADLINE
DATE TO ENSURE SUBMISSION ON TIME.
Step 6 - Application checked and submitted
Applications received by RFU electronically or on paper. RFU checks that financial details and
justification (see notes on justification above) on application are correct and appropriate
RFU submits/signs finalised application to the Sponsor. Once application has been submitted/signed
pFACT is updated by moving status to “Submitted”.
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