Frequently asked questions

Your first point of call should be your departmental/research administrator who would be involved in costing the proposal, its submission and will administer the grant on a day-to-day basis if awarded.  If your department does not have a departmental/research administrator who deals with research grants then the responsibility resides with the principal investigator (PI).

If you have any queries talk to your Grant Coordinator in the Faculty Research support team.

Please contact the appropriate Grant Coordinator for advice who will refer to relevant staff (eg PVC for Research) as appropriate.  For some funders this is simply part of the standard way in which costs are presented and the match does not necessarily involve additional 'cash input' from the institution. 

Knowledge exchange (KE) plans currently form part of STFC and NERC grants only. These are not to be confused with the AHRC and BBSRC Knowledge Exchange Programme.

The business development managers in Research & Enterprise, will review knowledge exchange plans prior to submission if desired.

• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
  From 1 July 2008, it became compulsory to include a two-page knowledge exchange plan on Standard, Partnership and Consortium Grants to NERC.  The plan should detail how the research may be beneficial and to whom, the methods of dissemination and any cost implications.
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
  KE Plans are not currently compulsory for STFC and guidelines have not been published to date. 

When applying for a Fellowship it is normal practice to cost the Fellow’s time on the grant.  The amount awarded in the budget will then be used to employ a replacement within the budget limit unless other funds are also being used towards the appointment.  Depending on the sponsor rules the budget may only cover part of the award.

Prior to the implementation of Better Management – the amount awarded in the sponsor budget will then be used to employ a replacement within the Department up to that budget limit (unless other funds are also being used towards the appointment).  For the majority of projects (i.e. other than fellowships), funds will not be made available to the department to employ a replacement to cover the investigator’s teaching load.

After the implementation of Better Management – the Department will be responsible for making this decision, subject to the overall financial position of the Department.

For advice on anything related to EC-funded research visit the European funding page.

York’s P.I.C. (Participant Identity Code) is 999978336.

The P.I.C. is used on the EC’s online submission system and allows some of the institution’s admin details to be pre-filled from the EC’s database.

We use the Special Transition Flat Rate (STFR), which means that our indirect costs are calculated on the basis of a flat rate of 60% of our direct costs.

For example if we have estimated EUR 100,000 for our direct costs, the total costs included in the proposal will be EUR 160,000 (100,000 direct costs plus 60,000 indirect costs). 

This applies for Collaborative projects and Networks of Excellence – but Coordination and Support Actions are different.

N.B. It should be noted that the true cost to the University of undertaking the work remains at fEC, but this will not be reflected on the project application. Currently the University is not intending to move to the variant of fEC that has been developed for UK HE sector specifically for use on FP7 proposals, but will continue to monitor and assess whether this move could prove worthwhile.

You should use the current rate provided by the Grant coordinator. 

Whilst fEC rates are used to determine the cost of the project, some sponsors use overhead rates to determine the price they are willing to pay for the project.

For European Commission projects, this price depends on the EU funding scheme.  For collaborative projects in EU Framework Programme 7, indirect costs (overheads) are calculated at 60% of direct costs.  Other EU programmes vary – please check with the relevant Grant Coordinator. 

For other overseas sponsors, the price will vary between organisations.  For example the University has an agreed overhead rate which is applicable to the majority of US Federal sponsors; however a different rate should be used in relation to the US National Institutes for Health.

This will depend on what level of help you need and which department you are in.  For those departments with a stand alone ethics committee (e.g. Biology, Psychology or Health Sciences), the most appropriate contact will be the Chair of your Ethics Committee.  For those departments, which report to a discipline level research committee (i.e. the Physical Sciences, Arts and Humanities or Social Sciences Ethics Committees), the most appropriate contact will be the Chair of your departmental research committee. 

In the first instance, you should refer to the Code of Practice on Ethics.

For those departments with a stand alone ethics committee (e.g. Biology, Psychology or Health Sciences), the most appropriate contact will be the Chair of your Ethics Committee.

For those departments which report to a discipline level research committee (i.e. the Physical Sciences, Arts and Humanities or the Social Sciences Ethics Committees), the most appropriate contact will be the Chair of your departmental research committee.

A number of activities require ethical scrutiny/approval by an outside body (e.g. the NHS). However, the matter also needs to be referred to the relevant departmental/subject-level ethics committee so that it can consider the project from a departmental/University perspective.

Whilst it is acknowledged that there are risks and workload implications associated with multiple reviewing, and that departmental/ subject-level ethics committee might not be qualified to deal with the particular ethical issues of concern to outside bodies, it is however vital that departments, and by extension the University, are aware of all projects with ethical implications being undertaken by its staff and students.

Brief pre-review by the departmental/subject-level ethics committee seeks to establish a practice whereby the department/University is informed of projects being submitted for external review and therefore able to identify any issues of specific concern for the department and/or University. The final outcome of ethical scrutiny by any outside body should always be reported back to the relevant departmental/subject-level ethics committee for information, allowing it to submit a comprehensive annual report to the University Ethics Committee as now required each Autumn Term.

For info on gaining access to Worktribe visit Worktribe support Wiki

Online electronic submission applications are used by the Research Councils, various charitable organisations, the EC and MOD and some industrial and overseas funders.

For Je-S, (used by The Research Councils) the Je-S website will take you through the steps necessary to create a Je-S account: https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk

Other funders

As a general rule, the funder’s website will have details on how to register with the funder. If unsure contact the relevant Grant coordinator.

Transfer the financial data from Worktribe onto the Je-S/EAA system for Research Council proposals, e-GAP for Royal Society proposals or onto a sponsors form for other types of proposals.

Recent Financial Statements are available on the University website.

Find out about the University’s insurance policies or contact insurance-enquiries@york.ac.uk

You should contact the Insurance Manager, Matthew Cox. He can be contacted on 01904 432008 or email matthew.cox@york.ac.uk.

A PDF copy of the Workplace Health and Safety Policy is available to download from the Health and Safety website.