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Setting up Your Grant

Congratulations on receiving confirmation that your project has been successfully funded. To help get started on your project there are three questions which you will need to initially consider. These are

  1. Is UoR the sole applicant organisation? – this relates to the contracting situation
  2. Do you intend to pay a supplier for goods and/or services from research funding? – this is to ascertain if procurement may be required or a collaboration agreement/subcontract
  3. Do you need to recruit staff and/or students? – this is to understand any recruitment related issues so advice can be provided

This information which will aid and guide you through the next steps to successfully starting your project. The Project Start Decision Tree  also contains information that will direct you to the right contacts within Research Services (RES) to assist you in proceeding with your grant.

Please consider each of the three questions and discuss the next steps with the appropriate RES contact as appropriate.

Please also read through the relevant Grant Handbook (Directly Commissioned Industry Handbook or Open Competition Handbook) which will guide you on getting to the stage where you can start your project.

What Happens Next?

  1. Once you have been notified that your application has been successful, please let the Project Setup Officer know so that we can start the post award processes. Some funders have specific acceptance procedures for grants, for instance:
    • For research council awards, RES will be notified directly by the Research Councils via the Je-S system and will contact PIs of the awards about the offer acceptance and to confirm likely start dates. This all has to be done before the deadline set by the funder and so the PI should do their acceptance as soon as possible to avoid the Institution not being able to accept in time.
    • For some funders such as British Academy, Royal Society and the British Heart Foundation, the PI is notified first of their success and they have to accept the offer on the online system. After this, the Institution has to accept the award as well. This all has to be done before the deadline set by the funder and so the PI should do their acceptance as soon as possible to avoid the Institution not being able to accept in time.
    • All other funders will have some form of acceptance process but please contact the Project Setup Officer in RES who will advise on your specific case.
  2. Only RES has the delegated authority to accept the award on your behalf - we will always check the details, including the amount offered, start date and any unusual terms and conditions, with you prior to accepting the funding.
  3. Once we have confirmation of your award, your project will be set up on the finance system and you will receive a project number (e.g. H1111111 if a research project). You are only able to start spending against your project budget once you have received this project number. If any collaboration or other agreements are required as part of your project, the Project Setup Officer will check to make sure that the Contracts Team has been alerted.
  4. The information below explains the actions you need to take and those which you can expect the RES teams to carry out on your behalf.

PI’s Should

  • Send the award letter to RES (if not on Je-S or other electronic system)
  • Consider the sections of this guidance and decide which are relevant to your project (recruitment, procurement etc.)
  • Ensure that you have provided all necessary information about any research collaborators to RES, including contact names and details
  • Provide details to the Contracts Team of any informal discussions you have been having, including details of your contacts and areas discussed so far
  • Begin to contact the relevant departments for your project e.g. HR for job descriptions; data manager for Data Policy development; Procurement for purchasing activity; research publications adviser for Publications Planning and Open Access
  • Refer to the guidance relating to international travel

Research Services Will:

  • Accept award on behalf of the University for certain funders
  • Negotiate terms and conditions/contracts/subcontracts (with input from PI on research-specific elements as required)
  • Accept/sign acceptance letters/ offers of funding

Research Accounts will:

  • Complete and return Starting Certificate (for the funders that require it e.g. Research Councils)
  • Set up finance codes and notify PI
  • Issue PI pack with information about ongoing financial management of the award

Timescales

The below timings are indicative - the time taken for a specific project may vary depending on factors such as complexity and funder terms and conditions. Please contact the Project Setup Officer as early as possible to establish a timeframe for the project.

  • Award Accepted by RES on online platform -  1-3 days from receipt of PI's confirmation that they wish to accept the award (unless terms require negotiation or contracts are required)
  • Project approval on finance system and project number issued - 1-3 days from award acceptance
  • PI information pack issued by Research Accounts - 1-3 weeks from project number being issued
  • Starting certificate returned (for funders that require it) - Upon start of eligible expenditure