COSTING A PROPOSAL - HINTS and TIPS

Transcription

1 1. Internal Prcesses 1.1 Credit Checking use f IC New Funder Credit checks fr new funders will be requested by Research Services (RS) at the award stage - unless a Principal Investigatr (PI) r Departmental/Divisinal Administratr (DA) asks fr this t be actined earlier If a prpsed funder has nt yet been credit checked, it will be unavailable t select frm the InfEd Prpsal Develpment Select Spnsr picklist TIP: Instead, chse IC New Funder (which is lcated under I ) and enter the full name f the actual funder n the Prject Summary screen. Scrll dwn t the New Funder Related Infrmatin sectin. 1.2 Fellwships - external applicants Since external applicants will nt have access t InfEd, a separate Fellwship Infrmatin Frm External Candidates shuld be cmpleted by all external fellwship applicants This allws cre infrmatin t be captured and entered nt InfEd by the Department/Divisin n the Fellw s behalf, enabling a Full Ecnmic Cst t be calculated TIP: Fr nn-imperial applicants, ensure that the prpsed supervisr is named as the PI n InfEd This frm is dwnladable frm the Research Supprt website: 2. FEC Csting Plicy 2.1 Cllabratins with ther institutins - external C-I csts If Imperial Cllege is the lead institutin n a prject and cllabrating with ther UK Higher Educatin Institutins (HEI), each HEI must supply details f their wn internally authrised cstings t the Imperial PI FEC methdlgy must be fllwed by all UK HEI external cllabratrs fr Research Cuncil prpsals. 2.2 Estates Type The Estates type will default autmatically fr each Faculty (and is linked t the PI n the prpsal). The defaults are listed belw and shuld NOT be changed withut advice frm Research Services: Labratry - Faculty f Medicine, Faculty f Natural Sciences and Faculty f Engineering (except Nn-labratry departments listed belw) Nn labratry - Business Schl and Mathematics nly 2.3 Equipment Maintenance Maintenance csts fr existing items f equipment are already included in the Estates calculatin, s they must be excluded frm the price charged t any funder wh already pays the Estates csts, e.g. Research Cuncils TIP: Maintenance csts fr new items f equipment can be included as a Directly Incurred cst 2.4 Indexatin Institutinal rates Indexatin is applied t different cst categries in accrdance with Imperial s rates The rates are available in the FEC Full Guidance Ntes (Sectin 6: Appendices) dwnladable frm the Research Supprt website: ICST&M Hints & Tips Jan11 1

2 3. InfEd Prpsal Develpment System 3.1 Research Partners and Prfessinal Services When research is undertaken by mre than ne UK HEI, the ther institutin(s) is cnsidered t be a Research Partner Fur budget categries are available fr UK Research Partners n the nn-staff Direct Cst picklist: Research Partner Directly Incurred (DI) Research Partner Directly Allcated (DA) Research Partner Estates Research Partner Indirect Csts In the budget descriptin, identify which institutin the csts belng t, e.g. fr travel, cnsumables, new equipment etc - enter Research Partner DI Csts (University X) If wrk undertaken by the ther institutin is prvisin f a service (nt research), the csts are categrised as Prfessinal Services. Select the budget categry Prfessinal Fees instead. It is imprtant that the crrect categry is chsen when develping the csts because Research Partner csts are excluded as Imperial s expenditure, whereas Prfessinal Services cunt twards Imperial s csts. This has a bearing n Imperial s annual research incme figures. TIP: If in dubt abut which categry t chse, please cnsult Research Services 3.2 External Cllabratr(s) Wrking n Imperial Premises Occasinally, an external cllabratr may wrk n Imperial s premises, but their research csts (bth staff and nn-staff) cntinue t be administered by the cllabrating institutin and will be recharged t Imperial TIP: The external cllabratr s salary and nn-staff csts shuld be detailed under the apprpriate Research Partner analysis cde(s) see Pint 3.1 abve 3.4 Directly Allcated (Pay Banded) staff wh need t be csted as Directly Incurred When adding named staff t a prpsal, the persn s grade will determine whether a staff member is assigned as Directly Incurred r Directly Allcated Hwever, if a PI is pay banded, but needs t charge their salary as a Directly Incurred cst (e.g. Senir Research Fellwship applicatin), fllw these steps: Leave the PI with zer cst and zer hurs assigned Cntact Research Services, wh will check the PI s HR recrd Add the PI a secnd time, but with a psitin f Researcher Cst the salary as either Charted r Fixed - based n the HR details supplied by Research Services. 3.5 Staff Csts Descriptin f Pst When yu add staff csts, remember t enter a different and meaningful descriptin fr each pst in the First/Persnnel Title field s that each pst can be easily distinguished. This is especially imprtant when several staff members are n the same grade and spine pint. Example: R&E, Level B, sp 30 (Researcher 1) R&E, Level B, sp 27 (Researcher 2) ICST&M Hints & Tips Jan11 2

3 3.6 Setup Questins If yu untick the Setup Questins tickbx, it resets all ther screens t 'unticked'. It will als reset the riginal Price if it was previusly adjusted. This is hw it is suppsed t wrk because the system assumes yu want t make a significant change t the Setup Questins, e.g. Funder name; Submissin Template; Subprjects; Pricing Rule etc - which is why all ther screens are unticked. TIP: It is recmmended that yu d nt cmplete all screens until the prpsal is almst ready fr submissin, i.e. d nt tick the screens as yu g alng, but wait until near the end. 3.7 Prject Summary The name f the relevant RS Manager will default as the Administrative Official based n the PI's Faculty. The name f the RSM in this sectin will NOT affect the final apprval ruting. This is still dependent n the PI r CI's Dept/Divisin. The InfEd system requires a name t be entered as the Administrative Official in bth bxes. This will default s that users d nt have t manually select smene twice. TIP: If a name des nt default, please ntify InfEd Admin s they can check the setups. 3.8 Selecting the PI Jint Appintments If a PI is affiliated t mre than ne Dept, they will be listed n the PI alphabetical picklist mre than nce. TIP: T ensure that the apprval ruting ges t the crrect Dept, yu need t select the PI - alng with their crrect assciated Dept - when the prpsal is first created. Yu can als change the PI n the Budget Perids and Setups screen (which is lcated within Budget Summary). 3.9 Price (Recvery) If yu make adjustments t the Price - but subsequently amend r add an extra budget item t the csting - yur previus Price adjustments will be verwritten and revert back t the riginal Price. TIP: Ensure that the FEC is agreed befre adjusting the final Price. ICST&M Hints & Tips Jan11 3

4 3.11 Budget Versins Althugh the system des nt stp yu frm creating new versins with different start and end dates fr each, please d NOT change the dates n a subsequent versin, therwise this will adversely affect the budget perids fr ALL previus versins. Als, please d nt add a Subprject t a subsequent versin. Instead, yu shuld add a Subprject t the current versin first, then add a new versin. Example: The Initial versin is created ver 3 years. A secnd Versin is created, but the perid is changed t 4 years: when yu g back and view the Initial budget versin again, the csts will be incrrectly displayed ver the updated 4 year perid (even thugh the start and end dates refer t the riginal 3 year perid) the pricing f each versin is als adversely affected TIP: Budget Versins functinality must NOT be used t cmpare versins with different dates. If yu need t make cmparisns using different dates, cpy the riginal prpsal and change the dates n the secnd prpsal recrd. Within a single prpsal recrd, each budget versin must retain the same start and end dates Attachments Althugh all dcuments will be cnverted t PDF within InfEd Prpsal Develpment, Research Services users will still be able t pen files in their riginal frmat if they access them using the InfEd Prpsal Tracking mdule, i.e. pen the prpsal recrd via PT and g t the main Attachments sectin near the bttm f the left-hand menu. TIP: s can be upladed and cnverted t PDF int InfEd if they are firstly saved as HTML frmat Submit fr Internal Apprval a) Submitting a Subprject Subprject csts will nly feed int the main "P" prpsal budget after clicking 'Dne' in the tp left hand crner f the screen. Submissin f the main prpsal nly will initiate the nline Internal Apprval ruting. The HD f the PI, and the HD f each C-I, will then be sent an autmated apprval ntificatin frm the InfEd system. They will be able t view the Main prpsal and each Subprject befre they make their final decisin: Apprved, Rewrk Required r Rejected. TIP: The screens n each Subprject must be ticked as cmpleted befre the main prpsal can be submitted by the PI fr Internal Apprval. TIP: The Budget Items screen f the main prpsal shuld nt be ticked as cmpleted until after the Subprject screens have been cmpleted. Otherwise, the cmpleted tickbxes fr each Subprject will be greyed ut. ICST&M Hints & Tips Jan11 4

5 b) Apprving a Subprject The nly step required when submitting a Subprject is t click n the first 'Build" buttn. The warning message presented when yu try t click n ther buttns can be ignred when wrking n a Subprject. TIP: Fr a Subprject, click n the first 'Build" buttn nly, then exit the Subprject prpsal. Advise the PI r PI s DA that yu have cmpleted the Subprject. Prvided all screens have been cmpleted (ticked) n each Subprject, the main prpsal can be submitted by the PI Apprval Ruting a) Inserted Steps Yu can add additinal reviewers r apprvers t existing Steps in the rute. Remember that if a persn is inserted as an Apprver, this persn must apprve befre the rute can prgress t the next persn in the rute. TIP: The ability t add additinal peple t the rute (as inserted steps) shuld cver mst scenaris, but if the apprval rute still des nt meet yur requirements, please cntact InfEd Admin (infed.admin@imperial.ac.uk) b) Jint Appintments If a prpsal has t be apprved by mre than ne Department, select the PI assciated t the first Department, and then add them again t the main prpsal as a C-I assciated t the secnd Department (with n time and n csts). The final apprval ruting will then include bth Heads f Department. TIP: There is n need t add the C-I by creating a separate Subprject unless yu want t split the budget between the tw Departments n a subsequent award. c) Faculty Principal apprval If the Price f a prpsal exceeds 1 millin, nly the Principal f the main PI s Faculty will be added t the apprval ruting (nt the CI s Faculty Principal). If the PI is als the Head f Dept/Divisin (HD), yu shuld manually insert the Faculty Principal as an additinal apprval step n the rute. d) Research Services Manager apprval f Subprjects Only the Research Services Manager f the main PI will need t apprve (althugh the RSMs will liaise with each ther anyway befre apprval) ICST&M Hints & Tips Jan11 5

6 3.15 Cpying Prpsals A user can nly cpy the prpsals they have access t. Remember that an exact cpy f a previus prpsal is created. Frm a security viewpint, we cannt allw unrelated users t view the csting infrmatin which appears n anther Department's prpsals (especially fr staff csts) Staff Cst Detail Reprts The csts f the Main prpsal and all Subprjects will be included n the same reprt. JeS (n inflatin) Staff Detail Reprt - if a nn-staff budget categry is added mre than nce n a prpsal, the amunts will be gruped tgether unless they have unique descriptins, e.g. cnsumables (Dept X), cnsumables (Dept Y). TIP: Nte that nly the C-I r C-I s DA can run the Staff Cst Detail Reprt fr an individual Subprject Shw/List Prpsals The Shw/List ptin will nly display the prpsals where a user is named as the PI. TIP: T access ther prpsals, use the Search Fr ptin 3.18 Editing and Viewing a) Viewing a prpsal after Submissin The DAs/DOMs f C-Is will still be able t view the main prpsal after it has been submitted by the PI. It is imprtant that the csts, price and recvery percentage fr the verall prpsal can be viewed by all. b) Editing a prpsal after Submissin Research Services users will be able t untick screens and edit a prpsal, even after it has been submitted by the PI. c) Viewing cst details after Submitting Users will still be able t view the details f salaries, Estates and Indirect Csts after a prpsal has been submitted Migrated Prpsals - Data errrs If yu try t access a migrated prpsal with data errrs - which has a status f either Draft, Waiting Apprval r Re-Wrk - yu need t make the necessary budget crrectins befre yu can prceed. Detailed instructins n hw t crrect the errrs will be included in the warning message displayed. Yu will nt be expected t crrect errrs n a prpsal which has already been submitted, unless yu try t cpy it. If yu try t cpy a migrated prpsal (f any Status) which has data errrs, a similar warning message will be displayed. Yu have t crrect the data errrs befre yu can cntinue t wrk n the cpied prpsal recrd. ICST&M Hints & Tips Jan11 6

7 4. Delegatin 4.1 Setting up delegatin Click n My Prfile and then click Edit Click n Delegatin T add individuals wh may access yur prpsals: Scrll t the bttm f the screen and click n Add T select the Delegate: Click n the first letter f the surname n the alphabet s it is bld Type the surname int the Search fr a particular entry field (the system will display the clsest match t the surname) OR yu can scrll up and dwn the Name picklist When yu find the name yu want, click n Select T assign the access level (View/Edit/Apprve) t a Delegate: Under Access Type, yu can change the default radi buttn frm View t Edit If yu als have the rle f Apprver, yu can give authrity t anther clleague(s) s they can apprve prpsals n yur behalf. Click in the Signing Authrity check bx s it is ticked Click n Save (tp right f the screen) and click OK in the pp-up bx. NOTE: If yu have the rle f Apprver, yu must ensure that delegatin f internal apprval rights is given t an apprpriate clleague nly. If the persn wh wants t give yu delegate access des nt have an InfEd accunt please cntact InfEd Admin ICST&M Hints & Tips Jan11 7

8 4.2 Accessing prpsals as a delegate T access prpsals fr each clleague yu can either click Shw/List r Search Fr Shw/List this will shw all prpsals that have yurself r yur clleague wh has given yu delegate access as a PI. Search Fr this ptin allws yu t search fr prpsals that have yur clleague as PI r C- I. Yu can use this ptin t search by Name, Prpsal Number, Spnsr, Title, and Status. 4.3 Accessing apprval / inf-nly s as a delegate NOTE: If yu have been delegated as an Apprver r Reviewer, yu will NOT receive any autmated ntificatin s t infrm yu there are prpsals t apprve r review. Instead, yu must regularly access the InfEd messages fr each clleague wh has delegated authrity t yu. Click n My Messages (right hand side f the screen) Click n the Shw Delegates icn n the right hand side f the panel In the pp-up bx, click n the name f the clleague wh has delegated access t yu Click n InBx t display a list f ntificatin s relating t yur clleague s prpsals Click n the Open icn adjacent t the relevant message ICST&M Hints & Tips Jan11 8