SLMS RESEARCH GRANT/CONTRACT CHECKLIST FOR DIVISIONS/INSTITUTES

Scope: This checklist is to be used for (i) grant applications for external funding and (ii) proposals to industry and commerce (ie. without formal grant schemes), prior to acceptance of an award.

PROJECT DETAILS
Principal Investigator /
Co-Investigators
Title
Funder / Submission Date:
FINANCE We recommend a copy of the research proposal/protocol is available to inform the costing
  • Have all eligible direct costs been included? Costs such as animal licencing, computers, advertising, and conference travel should be routinely included where allowed. Take into account the rules of the funder (e.g. some may not cover costs of advertising).
/ YES/NO/NA
  • Has the minimum expected PI time (12.5% for applications under £1.5M; 20% for applications over £1.5M) and minimum expected Co-I time (7.5%) been added?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • Have all overhead/Directly Allocated/Indirect costs been included? Minimum target of 20% in excess of direct costs for non-charitable funders. In addition, minimum 100% FEC for commercial funding.
/ YES/NO/NA
  • Have all costs been justified in accordance with the requirements of the funder?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • Where UCL Small or Major Research Facilities are used, have the costs been based on the rates of the facility (see: ), and has the Facility Manager confirmed the costs and that there is capacity to use the facility?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • Where the funder is overseas and will not accept costing in £-sterling, has the correct exchange rate been used? See: .
/ YES/NO/NA
  • If equipment is requested on Research Council applications, has the UCL Equipment Catalogue been checked () to see if UCL already has the necessary equipment?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • If there is the intention to appoint a named researcher/member of staff, is the costing appropriate?
/ YES/NO/NA
COLLABORATORS/CONTRACTORS
  • Where there are collaborators, have the costs been provided by the research/finance office of the institution?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • Are the collaborator’s costs in the format required by the funder (e.g. FEC)?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • Has applicable VAT been included? This would usually be required where there is a subcontract for supply of services (not a joint research project). For supply of services from a non-UK body, VAT can be chargeable even if not quoted by the supplier, as UCL may need to account for VAT directly to HMRC. As a default, include VAT for subcontracts, but check with Research Services if in doubt.
/ YES/NO/NA
  • For Research Council applications, has an exception been requested for subcontractors?
/ YES/NO/NA
START DATE
  • Is the start date reasonable, taking into account factors such as staff recruitment, equipment procurement, processing award paperwork and obtaining clinical approvals?
/ YES/NO/NA
SPACE
  • Is there sufficient space/facilities in the Division/Institute for the project to take place?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • If NO, consider what plans would be needed to ensure sufficient space/facilities.
/ YES/NO/NA
MATCHED FUNDING
  • Is UCL is required to commit any matched funding?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • If YES, has the source of the funding (e.g. discretionary fund) been identified, approved and committed? Please note this:______
/ YES/NO/NA
  • IF YES, is the amount of matched funding reasonable relative to the amount of external funding (e.g. up to 10% of the UCL award value)?
/ YES/NO/NA
IP ISSUES
  • Does the project involve use of any existing Intellectual Property and does the project have a commercial partner or any collaborators other than those from UCL?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • If YES, has approval been sought from UCL-B?
/ YES/NO/NA
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
  • Is there a commercial partner in a grant application?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • If YES, ensure that no terms are agreed with them at application stage and refer any terms to Research Services.
/ YES/NO/NA
CLINICAL RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
  • Is the project a clinical trial of a drug or medical device sponsored by UCL?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • If YES, have trial management, applicable NHS costs and other trial specific costs been costed by the Joint Research Office, NHS Trustand/or applicable UCL Clinical Trials Unit?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • Is the project a clinical trial of a drug or medical device sponsored by UCL?
/ YES/NO/NA
  • If YES, have trial management, applicable NHS costs and other trial specific costs been costed by the Joint Research Office, NHS Trustand/or applicable UCL Clinical Trials Unit?
/ YES/NO/NA
PEER REVIEW
  • Has this proposal been approved by HoD/HoRD as part of internal peer review?
/ YES/NO/NA
ACTION POINTS ONCE AWARDED
Please identify any action that will need to be taken once the grant is awarded.
For example: (i) If the application was submitted after the Research Services deadline, check costs before accepting the award; (ii) Ensure that terms with commercial partners on grant applications are agreed; (iii) Review plans for appropriate space/facilities.