Innovate UK post-award
The JRMO has produced the following guidance to assist researchers through the lifecycle of funding awards:
Starting and project set-up
- Calls with a document-based application process will be sent a conditional grant offer letter that must be signed and returned before the project can start.
- Applicants using the Innovation Funding Service will be asked to submit the necessary information required for project set-up and will not require a conditional offer letter.
- Additional documents/ collaboration agreements should be submitted to Innovate UK within the stated timelines.
Projects underway
- All expenditure must be incurred between the start and end date of the award.
- PIs will need to approve quarterly expenditure before JRMO submit their claims.
- Direct and indirect costs can no longer be claimed on a pro-rata basis throughout the life of the award and must instead be a percentage against total salary FTE worked in each claim period.
- Innovate UK accepts the TRAC methodology for the quantification of HEI costs, so applicants should not accept 20% flat-rate profiling and should contact the Innovate UK Monitoring Team at monitoring@innovateuk.gov.uk if there is an issue with this.
- If so requested, a statement must be submitted by the Department confirming that the costs for Directly Allocated staff were incurred and defrayed.
- Recruitment costs are eligible but only if they are incurred within the project start and end dates and comply with Queen Mary’s recruitment policies.
- Equipment should normally be purchased within the first 12 months of the project.
- Orders valued at more than £25,000 (excluding VAT) require Queen Mary procurement staff to be consulted before the procurement process begins.
- Directly incurred full- or part-time staff, such as research assistants, research associates, fellows, technicians or administrative staff, who work less than 100% of their contracted time on one Innovate UK project, must complete a monthly timesheet.
- Costs associated with staff not directly involved in the project are not eligible.
- PIs are responsible for ensuring that staff on the project complete monthly timesheets on their projects.
- General office consumables, such as photocopying, printing, stationery, telephone or postage, are not eligible unless usage is exceptional and justified in the application and subsequently awarded.
- Journals are only to be used in exceptional cases for charging eligible costs and a full audit trail must be available. The journal line description must be detailed including, where applicable, a clear reference to an original transaction such as an invoice number.
- A minimum of 1 to 3 project audits will be required on all awards over £10k and these must be coordinated by the JRMO working with the PI and their Department. Audit costs are not eligible for refunds and must be covered by the Department.
- Transfers of funds between fund headings are not permitted. Approval needs to be sought from Innovate UK, via the Project Change Request process with the Company and Monitoring Officer, and such requests must be submitted through JRMO.
- Projects may be extended at no additional cost by an overall total of up to 12 months under specific circumstances, and subject to prior written approval although 3 months is most common approved duration.
- Publications costs are not permissible on Innovate UK research grants. Innovate UK supports RCUK’s Open Access Policy.
- Where possible the type of Innovate UK support and the grant reference number should be included in all publications and other communications including media appearances, press releases and conferences.
- PIs should contact pressoffice@innovateuk.gov.uk before publication.
After project closure
- Travel and subsistence costs for activities beyond the project end date are not eligible even when these can be purchased in advance.