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Budget guidelines - research and innovation grants
In the light of the move to Full Economic Costs (FEC), the Foundation has recast its guidance on the costs it will and will not allow. The latest guidance is here.
Your application should include an itemised budget of the costs of carrying out the work, set out separately for each year that the project will run. You should also show clearly the total amount requested from the Foundation.
If you expect your project to become self-financing once the Foundation’s support has ended, you should explain how you plan to achieve this, and what steps you will take in the course of the grant to make this more likely. The Foundation does not support practical projects long term, though it recognises that it can take more than one grant to achieve long-term stability. You should discuss this issue in your application.
Please also read the guidelines below about what costs the Foundation does and does not allow. You must ensure that your application provides a clear explanation of the items for which you are seeking funding and a strong justification for any unusual requests, including consultancy fees, high salary levels etc.
Salaries
Annual staff salaries must be shown, net of National Insurance and superannuation, which should be separately itemised. If staff will not be working full-time on the project, the proportion of the time they will spend on the project should be stated. You should show salaries separately for each category of staff that will be funded. The Foundation will also meet the costs of recruiting new staff where required; details of the post to be filled should be included in the application.
The Foundation will meet increased costs arising from nationally negotiated pay awards that arise during the project and these should not be included in the budget. However, if you wish to seek funding for cost of living increases that are not part of a nationally negotiated scheme, or to meet the costs of incremental pay rises or promotions, these must be specified in the budget at the time you apply; we are unable to meet such costs if we are notified retrospectively.
Consultancy fees
The Foundation will meet reasonable costs of specialist consultants where these are necessary to the projects it funds, but subjects these costs to special scrutiny. If possible you should include full details of named consultants, together with their CVs, and the application should address why a paid consultancy is needed. If a consultant has not yet been selected, details of the job specification should be included. In either case, the number of days and the daily rate should be clearly stated.
Equipment
The Foundation will fund equipment specially required for the projects it funds. Office equipment is generally assumed to have a life-span of 3 years, and equipment on projects with a time-scale of less than 3 years will generally be eligible for part-funding only. Exceptions may be made for projects carried out in the voluntary sector.
Travel and subsistence
Give full details if travelling costs exceed £1,500. Travel costs for Advisory Groups are allowable, and an estimated cost should be included in the budget.
Survey, fieldwork or interviewing costs
Where a project includes a survey, the application must give details of the work and the costs at each stage of the work. Where the project includes a commissioned or sub-contracted survey, the application must provide an up-to-date quotation from a named organisation. On small-scale projects, where payments for interviews will be made to individuals whose salaries are not funded by the application, the number of interviews and the cost per interview should be clearly shown.
Direct administration and office expenses
In general, postage, telephone, stationery, photocopying and other direct office costs attributable to the project are allowable. Where the total of such costs exceeds £1,500, details should be given.
Communication and publication
(See section on communication and reporting)
Indirect costs
Trustees will consider contributing towards the reasonable indirect costs (‘overheads’) of voluntary organisations or independent research institutions In these cases the indirect costs should be expressed as a proportion of salaries, and the percentage that is used should be clearly stated. The budget should give details of the services included (accommodation, management, central services and so on).
Last Updated Thu, 3 April 2008