Funding from all sources should be included in this section; however, it is not expected that financial details will be precise at this stage. All prices and salaries should be calculated at current prices. Total estimated costs for each of the sub-headings described below should be recorded; a detailed breakdown of costs in each sub-heading is not required.
Enter a numeric value only e.g:
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:
Staff: Payroll costs requested for staff, full or part-time, who will work on the project and whose time can be supported by a full audit trail during the life of the project.
Travel and Subsistence: Funds for travel and subsistence for use by staff who work on the project where these are required by the nature of the work.
Other costs: Costs of other items dedicated to the project, including consumables, books, survey fees, purchase/hire of vehicles or recruitment and advertising costs for staff directly employed on the project. Items of equipment costing less than £10,000 should also be included under this heading.
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:
Investigators: Proposals will need to show the costs of Principal Investigator and any Co-Investigators (but not Researcher Co-Investigators, who should be included as a Directly Incurred cost).
Estates: These costs may include building and premises costs, basic services and utilities, and any clerical staff and equipment maintenance or operational costs not already included under other cost headings.
Other Directly Allocated: These costs may include, for example, the costs of technical staff or access to institutional research facilities such as equipment, IT systems.
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. Costs relating to PhD studentships should be entered here for those Councils that have project students. Please include Equipment costing over £10,000 within this section; the cost of individual items of equipment dedicated to the project and costing more than £10,000 (including VAT) not including the Research Council contribution. Please only enter the amount sought from the Research Council.
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 will include an allowance for inflation if a grant is awarded.
Resources to be provided by project partners, whether cash or in-kind contributions, should be clearly identified in the proposal – this should include in-kind contributions from the host institution. These contributions are not considered to be part of the fEC of the project.