Your Idea
Research Planning
Project Planning
Impact
A detailed breakdown of costs for the project should be produced with justification for resources requested. The costings should be based on current prices and be realistic and accurate. The application at stage 1 involves an outline budget whereas at stage 2 a full breakdown of costs is required. It is, however, advisable to produce full costings at stage 1 so that at stage 2 there are no major variations in the budget from stage 1. All applications are expected to have appropriate NHS, higher education institution (HEI), commercial and other partner organisation input into the finance section of the application form.
For HEIs 80% of full economic cost (FEC) will be paid. For NHS up to 100% of direct costs will be paid. HEIs are permitted to claim estate and other indirect costs. Commercial/other partner organisations can claim indirect costs which are the costs of resources used by the research that are shared by other activities (full justification required).
The following categories should be considered when preparing your budget:
Direct Costs
- Staff costs
- Include the annual costs of each applicant. Staff costs should include any known annual increments
- Travel, subsistence and conference fees
- Include travel and subsistence costs for the project advisory group, steering committee, ethics committee etc. Also include costs related to dissemination and any overseas travel
- Travel should be by the most economic means
- Accommodation and meals can be included (alcohol is excluded)
- National and international (max of 2) conferences costs can be included but will require full justification for travel and attendance at the conference
- Equipment (including lease versus purchase costs)
- Costs for essential equipment and maintenance (up to £5000 for each item) will be considered assuming not covered elsewhere (eg estates). Leasing should be considered for equipment costing more than £5000
- Cost of computers normally restricted to £650 ex VAT
- Equipment must exclude VAT unless VAT cannot be reclaimed
- Consumables
- This refers to non-reusable items specific to the project and not general office costs (see indirect costs)
- Public involvement, engagement and participation
- NIHR example payments which can be used as a guide/benchmark:
- £12.50 - For involvement in a task or activity such as reading and commenting on an abstract which equates to less than half an hour. For example, reviewing papers for the development of alerts
- £25 - For involvement in a task or activity requiring little or no preparation and which equates to approximately one hour of activity or less. For example, participating in a focus group to provide feedback on a proposal
- £50 - For involvement in a task or activity likely to require some preparation and which equates to approximately two hours of activity. For example, an online meeting with related papers to read or review a few short documents
- £75 - For involvement in a task or activity where preparation is required and which equates to approximately half a day’s activity. For example, participating in a meeting to interview a small number of candidates who have applied to join a committee or panel, participating in a focus group, or delivering training
- NIHR example payments which can be used as a guide/benchmark:
- Other direct costs
- These are costs, not identified elsewhere and can include costs associated with the use of research facilities, external consultancy costs, costs associated with inclusivity (which may include but are not limited to justified translation of research participant material into other relevant languages), computer licensing, recruitment and advertising costs
Other Costs
- Dissemination costs
- Includes open access costs (an open access envelope will be allocated on top of award value)
- Includes costs for meetings to share best practice, training events and events for dissemination of research findings
Indirect Costs
- General office and basic laboratory consumables
- Premises costs
- Library services/learning resources
- Typing/secretarial
- Finance, personnel, public relations and departmental services
- Usage costs of major research facilities
- Central and distributed computing
- Charge out rates for shared equipment
- Cost of capital employed
NHS Support and Treatment Costs
The research award does NOT include NHS support and/or treatment costs. These costs, including costs for social care research, are funded via Clinical Research Networks and should be detailed in the Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT). Applicants should contact their NHS R&D department or Local Clinical Research Network (LCRN).
NHS treatment costs are the patient care costs that would continue to be incurred if the patient care service in question continued to be provided after the R&D activity has stopped. Where patient care is being provided which differs from the normal, standard treatment for that condition, the difference between the total treatment costs and the costs of the “usual standard care" (if any) constitutes excess treatment cost/saving, but is nonetheless part of the treatment cost, not an NHS support or research cost. These costs should be determined in conjunction with your NHS body or provider of NHS services and their commissioners.