Pre Award Support - Costing FAQs

Below is a selection of frequently asked questions relating to research funding applications.

General Queries

How can I get costings for a grant application?

Please use RKE as the first point of contact and notify them of your intention to apply for a grant as early as possible. RKE will log the details of the grant on our internal costing system, ARCP, and will then request the costings from Finance. Costings are developed in partnership between the PI, RKE and Finance. Check who provides RKE support for your College.

What information does RKE need in order to provide me with costings for a grant application?

When you notify RKE of your intention to submit you will be asked to provide the following information:
•   Project start date
•   Project duration
•   Funder and scheme
•   Submission deadline (or anticipated date of submission for open calls)
We use this information to log the grant on ARCP and generate a unique reference number for your proposal, which must be in place before costings can be requested from Finance. The PI should then provide a list of the resources that they require, with guidance from RKE, and RKE will request the costings from Finance. For staff costs the following information will be required:
•   Name or grade of post if unnamed
•   Start date
•   Duration
•   Time commitment (hours per week or % FTE)
Finance will provide the costs for staff time and associated estates and indirect costs (if eligible).
Non-staff costs such as consumables and travel should be determined by the PI. Finance will collate all costs to provide a full itemised breakdown. Costings are developed in partnership between the PI, RKE and Finance.

What start date should I use for my project?

In some cases the start date will be specified by the funder. Where the start date is not specified, you will need to factor in sufficient time for the funder’s review and decision-making process and some additional time to allow for contracts and recruitment of staff to work on the project. Recruitment of new staff may take 3-6 months. For UKRI standard research grants (responsive mode) we would typically recommend that your start date is at least 9 months after the submission date. RKE can support you to determine an appropriate project start date based on the funder and scheme that you are applying to.

I already know the cost of the resources that I require so why do I have to contact RKE?

The costings for all grant applications need to be logged on ARCP, checked by Finance and approved before submission to the funder. This is required for compliance with the University’s Financial Regulations. ARCP is also used for reporting purposes so if grant submissions are not logged on the system they will not be included in institutional, College or individual academic activity reports.

When should I contact RKE for grant costings?

Please notify RKE of your intention to submit as early as possible. At this stage you may not be ready to develop the costings, but we will be able to log the details on our system so that everything is in place for when you are able to confirm what resources you require. RKE will advise you on the proposal development timeline to ensure that you factor in sufficient time for costings and approvals.

What costs are eligible?

Eligible costs vary depending on the specific funder and scheme that you are applying to. Please check the funder’s guidelines and contact RKE with any questions.

Why are charity grants considered to be less financially sustainable?

Undertaking research typically does not generate a profit and it is important that the University is able to recover some of its running costs from research grants. The amount that the University is able to recover after all direct project expenditure has been covered is known as the ‘contribution rate’ as it contributes towards academic investigator costs and University overheads.

Funders such as the Research Councils fund on a Full Economic Cost (FEC) basis, which means that they will contribute towards the running costs (estates, indirect costs, investigator time) associated with undertaking a research project; they typically have a contribution rate of around 40%. Charities will usually only fund the directly incurred costs of a research project and they will not fund investigator salaries, indirect or estates costs so they have a contribution rate of 0%. This shortfall must be subsidised by the University. Charity grants are an important source of research funding, particularly for Early Career Researchers who are building their track records, but each College has local processes in place to consider the financial implications of research grant submissions, taking into account factors such as the scale and duration of the grant, the College’s existing portfolio of funding and future pipeline, the strategic alignment of the research project, and the potential return on investment.

How are indirect and estates costs determined?

Each University has their own rate for indirect and estates costs that is established using the TRansparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) methodology. Indirect and estates costs for an individual project are based on the requested time commitment of staff on the grant (investigators and research staff). Finance will calculate indirect and estates costs for you.

Why are indirect costs so high?

For UKRI applications indirect costs are calculated by sector-wide guidance (TRAC), externally benchmarked and approved by the University TRAC steering group each year. UKRI typically funds at 80% of the full economic cost (FEC) and therefore the University uses the indirect cost contributions to offset the 20% funding that Aston is expected to provide. Applicants are not required to justify the amount of funding requested for estates and indirect costs in their justification of resources.

For non-UKRI funding the Finance team will determine what overheads are applicable based on the guidance for the scheme and/or whether Aston owns/retains rights to intellectual property and publications.

I have identified a funding opportunity with a very tight deadline – can I apply?

RKE and Finance take a flexible approach and will endeavour to support all submissions, even those with a very tight timeline. However, institutional processes must be adhered to so you may not be able to submit if there is insufficient time to complete the costings and approvals.

RKE have asked me to confirm the ‘REF share’ for my grant application – what does this mean?

The ‘REF share’ relates to how the funding allocated to Aston from the grant should be split between Aston investigators for the purposes of internal financial reporting. This information feeds into College reports on grant submissions activity and funding won, and it ensures that co-investigators get recognition for their involvement in grant applications (rather than the full funding amount being allocated to the PI). There is no right or wrong answer, and it is the responsibility of the PI and CoIs to agree the percentage split of the funding that reflects their involvement in designing the study and writing the proposal.

Is it possible to change the start date after the costings have been developed?

The start date may be changed after the draft costings have been prepared, but please bear in mind that Finance will need to update the numbers as the change in start date will impact on staff costs. If the institutional approval process has already been completed it may be possible to change the start date and amend the costings, but the amended version would then need to go through the institutional approval process again so every effort should be made to provide the correct start date from the outset. RKE will advise you on whether there is sufficient time to amend the costings and secure institutional approval.

Can I request funding for equipment?

Eligible costs vary depending on the specific funder and scheme that you are applying to. Please check the funder’s guidelines and contact RKE with any questions. If the funder will not cover the full cost of the equipment you will need to seek match funding approval from your College. The funder may require you to submit one or more quotes for larger items of equipment.

Can I request funding for a PhD studentship?

Eligible costs vary depending on the specific funder and scheme that you are applying to. Please check the funder’s guidelines and contact RKE with any questions. UKRI will not fund individual PhD studentships within grants.

Who should I contact for help with my Justification of Resources?

RKE and Finance would be pleased to support you with your Justification of Resources; please contact RKE in the first instance as they may be able to provide you with a template document. They will cross-check your completed document with the finalised costings to ensure that every item has been justified appropriately and the correct numbers have been included under the correct cost headings.

How should I work out the costs for travel?

Travel costs should be as accurate as possible and based on the most economic means of transport. Please contact the University’s preferred travel agent, Click Travel, to obtain quotes for overseas travel. If an overnight stay is required you will need to include accommodation and subsistence costs. The University’s Expenses Policy outlines key information such as day-rates for subsistence and mileage rates for the use of private vehicles.

If you are requesting funding to attend a conference the exact location may not yet be confirmed. In such cases the costs should be estimated based on the anticipated location (UK, Europe or international) and the duration and registration costs of the organisation’s most recent conference.

How should I work out the costs for an event/workshop?

If you wish to hold an event on campus please contact Conference Aston for a quote.

Are there any restrictions on what grants I may submit?

In order to maximise financial sustainability the University has adopted a more active approach to managing research bids, covering both volume and financial parameters. Please check the active bid management framework for further details. RKE will be able to advise you on any College-level restrictions.

Approval Processes

Why do I need institutional approval for grant costings?

It is a requirement of the University’s Financial Regulations that all external funding applications are costed and approved prior to submission to the funder.

How do I get institutional approval for my grant submission?

The institutional approval process is managed using ARCP. When the costings have been finalised RKE will ask you for an advanced draft of your proposal, which will be uploaded to the ARCP costing record and submitted for institutional approval. The institutional approval process should be initiated at least five working days before the funder’s submission deadline to ensure that sufficient time is available to complete the process. You may also be required to provide additional documentation such as an approved match funding form or facility form. RKE will inform you when the institutional approval process is complete and you may proceed with submission to the funder.

Who will approve my grant submission?

The institutional approval process comprises a series of sequential electronic approvals by Finance, RKE, and the College ADR/Dean. Larger-scale grants require additional approvals:

•   Over £1M FEC: College Executive Dean and Chief Operating Officer
•   Over £2M FEC: College Executive Dean, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chancellor
•   Over £5M FEC: College Executive Dean, Chief Operating Officer, Vice Chancellor and Council

At each stage the proposal and costings will undergo scrutiny, but any potential issues should have been discussed with RKE at an early stage to avoid any delays to the approval process. RKE will advise you on any additional approvals that are required by your College such as match funding or use of facilities. The institutional approval process should be initiated at least five working days before the funder’s submission deadline to ensure that sufficient time is available to complete the process, but additional time should be allowed for larger-scale proposals that require additional approvals.

When should costings be submitted for institutional approval?

The institutional approval process should be initiated at least five working days before the funder’s submission deadline to ensure that sufficient time is available to complete the process, but additional time should be allowed for larger-scale proposals that require additional approvals. RKE will advise you on the proposal development timeline to ensure that you factor in sufficient time for costings and approvals.

Why do you need a copy of my proposal for the institutional approvals process?

Institutional approvers review both the grant costings and an advanced draft of the proposal in order to make a fully informed decision on whether to approve the submission. It is essential that the financial breakdown specified in the grant application matches the costings on our internal system ARCP. We appreciate that you may wish to continue working on your proposal in parallel to the institutional approval process, and it is acceptable for you to make minor amendments to the wording, but it is not possible for you to change the costings, start date or duration at this stage. We are required to keep a copy of all external funding applications on file for audit purposes so please send RKE a copy of the final submission.

Can I change the costings after the institutional approval process is complete?

RKE will ask the PI to confirm if the costings are complete before initiating the institutional approval process and every effort should be made to finalise the costings at least five working days in advance of the funder’s submission deadline. However, we appreciate that on rare occasions a last-minute change to the costings may be required. If the costs are amended they will need to go through the institutional approval process again. RKE will advise you on whether there is sufficient time to amend the costings and secure institutional approval.

Online grant application forms

Can someone help me to enter the costings into my application form?: Some online applications provide an option to allow Finance/Admin Officer access to your online application form so that they may enter the financial breakdown. Please discuss this with RKE to ensure that you invite the correct person. If it is not possible to grant administrator access Finance/RKE will advise you on which numbers should be entered and they will provide a financial breakdown in a format appropriate for the individual funder and scheme.
My online application requires Finance Officer/Admin Authority approval – who should I ask to do this?: RKE will advise you on who should complete these approvals in your online application form. Please ensure that you give them access to your online application as early as possible and allow sufficient time for them to complete the approvals ahead of the submission deadline in case they identify any issues that require amendment. Online approvals will only be completed once the institutional approval process is complete.

Staff time

What investigator time commitment should I request funding for?: This depends on the specific nature of your project and the research being undertaken. You should consider how much time you think you will need to commit to deliver the project, including aspects such as project management and supervision of research staff, whilst also taking into account your existing commitments. As part of the University’s active bid management framework a minimum PI/CoI time commitment is required for certain funders/schemes; any deviation from this must be approved by the Executive Dean of the College and the PVC Research.
Can I calculate the cost for my time commitment based on my salary?: AGrant costings for staff time need to take into account scheduled increases such as annual increments and inflation, and they may also need to include ‘on-costs’ (pension and National Insurance contributions). It is therefore essential that an accurate costing is provided by Finance based on official payroll information.
Why are staff costs so high?: Some funders request information on your gross salary – the full payment that you receive before any tax deductions and mandatory contributions (eg. Pension, National Insurance) have been removed. These tax deductions and mandatory contributions are known as ‘on-costs’. The cost is therefore higher than your net or basic salary (what you take home after all contributions and taxes have been deducted).
What research staff should I request funding for?: Depending on the nature of your project, you may wish to request funding for a researcher to carry out the day-to-day research, such as data collection and analysis. This could be a Research Assistant, Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Technician. It may be possible for you to request funding for a researcher who is already employed at Aston (depending on their existing contract) or you may wish to request funding for an un-named post in order to recruit a new member of staff to work on the project. You should consider what skills and experience the individual will need to be able to deliver the research (eg. Do you need someone with a PhD/previous research experience?), whether they will be required full-time or part-time, when they will need to start work on the project, and for what duration.
Can I request funding for more than one researcher?: For some projects you may be able to justify requesting funding for more than one researcher, for example if the workload is too much for one person or if you are unlikely to be able to recruit one person who has the full breadth of specialist skills required to undertake the research. In such cases you should consider the grade, start date, time commitment and duration to ensure that the resources requested can be fully justified and offer good value for money.

Collaborative proposals

I am a co-investigator on a proposal led by another institution – do I need to contact RKE?: RKE should be notified of all intentions to submit grant applications as proposals led by other institutions are subject to the same process regarding costings and institutional approvals. RKE will support you to obtain the costings for your involvement in the proposal and Finance will provide this in a format that you can share with the PI and their Research Office.
My proposal involves co-investigators from other institutions – what information does RKE need?: The involvement of colleagues from other institutions, and their associated costs, need to be logged on our internal system, ARCP, along with the funding that Aston is requesting. Please ask the Co-investigators to obtain a costing for their time and other resources from their Research Office and send this to RKE and Finance so that the numbers can be collated. Do bear in mind that the partner institutions will have their own institutional approval processes so you should contact them as early as possible to allow time for this. They may ask you to provide a draft of your application.

Outline and two-stage applications

I am submitting an outline proposal that only requires an estimate of the total cost – do I still need to contact RKE?: Whilst the funder may not require a full financial breakdown in an outline application it is important that you provide an accurate cost. Our institutional approval process applies to all external funding applications, regardless of the proposal stage, so it is essential that you work with RKE and Finance in the usual way to develop a full costing and secure institutional approval. This will also make life much easier if you are invited to submit a full proposal as it means you already have a detailed financial breakdown to work from.
My outline proposal was successful and I have been invited to submit a full proposal – can I change the costings?: When preparing a full proposal you will need to review the outline costings and determine if any changes should be made. This could be as a result of feedback provided by the funder or a change to the project start date. As a general rule, the amount of funding requested on an invited full proposal should be within 10% of the amount requested at the outline stage as a more drastic change may indicate that you have made a significant change to the project and you may need to seek approval from the funder. This highlights the importance of developing a full and accurate financial breakdown at the outline stage so that the costings for the full proposal don’t require major amendment.
Do I need to get institutional approval for an invited full proposal as the outline was approved?: Institutional approval is required for all grant submissions, regardless of the stage. Even if the costings on the full proposal are exactly the same as those submitted at outline stage it is still necessary to obtain institutional approval at both stages. This also ensure that we have accurate information on all submissions activity for reporting purposes.

Facility Costs

Can I request funding for the use of specialist facilities?: Eligible costs vary depending on the specific funder and scheme that you are applying to. Please check the funder’s guidelines and contact RKE with any questions. If it is possible to request funding for a specialist facility at Aston, such as the Biomedical Facility or Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment Facility, RKE will advise you on who you should contact to discuss the costings. You may also need to obtain some additional approvals. If you need to use an external facility please contact them directly to obtain a quote. You may also need to factor in travel costs to visit the facility.

Match funding and in-kind contributions

Can I include an in-kind contribution or match funding on my proposal?: Some funding schemes may require match funding or an in-kind contribution, or there may be cases where it is felt that a financial commitment from the University may help to leverage funding. Match funding and in-kind contributions must be approved by your College at least ten working days before the funder’s submission deadline. Please discuss this with RKE at an early stage so that they may support you to get the match funding or in-kind contribution costed by Finance, approved by your College, and then institutional approvals completed on ARCP. Match funding and in-kind contributions are logged on ARCP in the same way as other grant costings for reporting purposes. Further details are available via Aston’s match funding policy.
I am involved in a URKI proposal as a project partner and am therefore unable to request any funding for my time. Do I need to notify RKE?: As this would be included as an in-kind contribution it needs to be costed by Finance, approved by your College, and then institutional approvals completed on ARCP. The information is logged on ARCP in the same way as other grant costings for reporting purposes. This also ensures that you have an accurate value for the in-kind commitment, which you will need to specify in your project partner letter of support.

The terminology surrounding Research Projects can be confusing to those unfamiliar with it. The below Glossary of Terms provides a helpful guide to some commonly misunderstood terms.

Glossary

Account Code: A four-digit code which describes the goods, services or expenses being paid for, e.g. '7000 - Laboratory Equipment' (distinct from a Job-Code - see below)

Agresso: Aston's purchasing system is used to raise Purchase Orders and Receipt Goods.

Agresso Research Costing and Pricing (ARCP): an online tool used by Aston University to generate research grant costings, manage institutional approvals, and provide financial and activity reports

Casual appointment: A staff member employed on a short-term contract not greater than 12 weeks in duration.

Contribution rate: ‘Contribution’ relates to the amount that a grant contributes to the running costs of a research project through the recovery of overheads and investigator salaries.

Contribution = price – directly incurred costs.
Contribution rate (%) = (Contribution/price) X 100.

Research Council grants typically have a contribution rate of around 40%, whereas charity grants usually have a 0% contribution rate because they only fund directly incurred costs.

Directly allocated costs: The cost of resources that are funded by the University regardless of whether the research project goes ahead and are shared by other activities/projects. This includes investigator time and estate costs.

Directly incurred costs: new costs specific to the proposed research project that are essential for its delivery, such as lab consumables, travel, researcher time, and equipment. These costs would not be incurred if the proposal is not funded.

Eligible costs: Costs that a funder is willing to support. This varies according to the individual funder and scheme and is specified in the funder’s guidelines.

Estates costs: Costs related to the University’s buildings and premises, including capital (depreciation), maintenance, utility costs, cleaning, security and safety. Each institution has its own rate, and costs are charged based on the FTE staff time on the project.

Fixed Term Appointment: A staff member employed for a duration greater than 12 weeks but for a limited period tied to the funding package.

Full Economic Cost (FEC): the full cost to the University of undertaking the proposed research. This includes all direct and indirect costs such as depreciation, space, central services, and a contribution to the University's infrastructure investment.

Full-time Equivalent (FTE): an individual’s time commitment on a research project, calculated as a proportion of their total working hours (typically 37.5 hours per week). For example, a time commitment of 3.75 hours per week is 10% FTE.

Indirect costs: costs of the University’s management and administrative services, including Finance, Human Resources, IT Services, Library. Each institution has its own rate, and costs are charged based on the FTE staff time on the project.

In-kind contribution: a contribution made by not charging the funder for something eg. providing academic time free-of-charge.

Job-Code: A numeric identifier unique to your funded research project, usually five digits for externally funded projects, e.g. '12345', but with a two-digit suffix for internal funding awards (Impact Fund/RKE Pump Priming Fund), e.g. '12345-01'. These are distinct from Account Codes (see above).

Match funding: a tangible budget commitment made by the host institution to support a grant application, such as the provision of a PhD studentship or funding for an item of equipment.

Price: the amount that can be charged to undertake the research activity ie. the amount of money awarded by the funder

Purchase Order (PO): A purchase order is a legal document that is created by a buyer and sent to a seller to confirm their intention to purchase products and/or services. Aston operates a 'No Purchase Order, No Pay' policy.

TRansparent Approach to Costings (TRAC): TRAC is an activity-based costing system designed for use by Higher Education institutions in the UK; it determines the rates that an institution can charge to recover the overheads (estates and indirect costs) associated with research activity. An additional overhead charge is applied to contribute towards technical support (infrastructure technician).

Please contact your Strategic Funding Manager or Grants and Contracts Manager if you want to know more.

Key Contacts

Key RKE, Finance and College contacts.

Business and Social Sciences

Strategic Funding Manager: Ronni Littlewood

Grants and Contracts Manager: Suzie Hayman

Finance: Matt Cooper and Cassie McKenna

Business Development Manager: Zaheda Teladia

Associate Dean Research: Professor Nicholas O'Regan

Executive Dean: Professor George Feiger

Research Donations: Christiane Dickens, Director Of Advancement, Alumni Relations And Development

Engineering and Physical Sciences