In June, we worked with UK Research and Innovation to review how we manage their research grants and contracts. We now have the results of this review. Image UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a newly formed organisation operating across the whole of the UK, bringing together the seven Research Councils, Innovate UK and a new organisation, Research England. UKRI has a combined budget of more than £6 billion, and aims to be an outstanding organisation that ensures the UK maintains its world leading position in research and innovation, by creating a system that maximises the contribution of each of the component parts and creates the best environment for research and innovation to flourish. UKRI visited the University in June to review our management of their research grants and contracts. UKRI Funding Assurance aims to identify and support good financial administration and project management which ensures that objectives for value for money and good governance are achieved. We now have the results from their review. We have done very well, gaining the second highest level of assurance. However, we are not perfect! There are some things we could improve on. The UKRI audit recommendations include : Receipts. Please remember that all receipts should be itemised and that credit/debit card statements are not sufficient evidence of expenditure. Coding of expenditure. Ensure that you select the account code that accurately reflects the type of expenditure being charged to the research grant. Eligibility of Costs. Ensure only eligible costs are charged to research grants. UKIR funder terms and conditions are all available on worktribe and on the UKRI website. Travel costs. UKRI require that all travel claims should evidence value for money as the primary consideration. Consequently, these should only include travel by standard class by train and economy class by air for flights. Please ensure you keep evidence of this to support your grant expenditure. Monitoring of Expenditure. Ensure you undertake regular monitoring of expenditure against budget to avoid ineligible costs, incorrect coding etc. being made to grants. Find out more The UKRI website has a lot of useful information which is helpful in post-award grant management. UKRI website Current terms and conditions and guidance for newly awarded funding. Post-award guidance Information about our expectations of research organisations and researchers Grant terms and conditions Research councils' grant terms and conditions Reporting the outcomes of research Collecting outputs and impacts from your funded research Data policy Opening up research data for scrutiny and reuse Open access Information on open access This article was published on 2024-07-01
