Costings

General Guidance

AHRC - Specific Guidance

NERC - Specific Guidance

 

 

General Guidance

 

All costs that contribute to the full economic cost (fEC) of the proposal should be included for allowable cost categories (these are scheme-specific).

The cost headings are:

Directly Incurred: these are costs that are explicitly identifiable as arising from the conduct of a project, are charged as the cash value actually spent and are supported by an audit record. They include:

Directly Allocated: these are the costs of resources used by a project that are shared by other activities. They are charged to projects on the basis of estimates rather than actual costs and do not represent actual costs on a project-by-project basis. They include:

Indirect Costs: these include non-specific costs charged across all projects based on estimates that are not otherwise included as Directly Allocated costs. They include the costs of the Research Organisation’s administration, such as personnel, finance, library and some departmental services.

Exceptions: these are Directly Incurred costs that Research Councils will fund in full (i.e. at 100%), subject to actual expenditure incurred, or items that are outside fEC.

All costings should be at current prices, inclusive of VAT and other taxes where applicable, with no allowance for inflation. Any allowance for inflation that has been included in the full economic costing of the proposal by the Research Organisation must be excluded. The Research Councils may include an allowance for inflation if a grant is awarded.

All resources must be justified. The justification of resources should be completed as a separate item. All costs associated with the project must be justified, with the following exceptions:

Queries Regarding FEC Proposals

The Je-S Helpdesk should be used as the first contact point for the Councils. Queries regarding the details of costing a project will have to be referred back to the RO contact since these will be specific to each RO. Otherwise, the Je-S Helpdesk will use its contacts within the Councils to obtain a response.

 

- THE FOLLOWING IS COUNCIL SPECIFIC GUIDANCE -

 

AHRC - specific guidance:

Fellowship/Leadership Fellows grants cannot include costs under the Equipment heading i.e. any individual items that cost more than £10,000

NERC - specific guidance:

NERC expects fellows to be based at a Research Organisation that can provide appropriate equipment and facilities so will not provide funding for large equipment on a fellowship. Small items (up to £10,000) can be requested under the other Directly Incurred costs heading. The Head of Department statement should include justification for a higher than average fellowship starting salary.

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