There are many aspects to writing a good grant application, a key element is getting your costings right! Whatever the funding call you are applying to, you can guarantee there will be stiff competition, and every penny needs to count.
This guide from the Medical Research Council [1] provides mostly details how to cost a proposal which you might submit to them. However, it should also act as a great prompt for the things you might want to consider when costing your own research proposal.
On this page
- 1.1 Full economic cost/Transparent approach to costing
- 1.2 Fund types
- 1.2.1 Research staff costs
- 1.2.2 Directly incurred costs
- 3.2.2.1 Travel and subsistence
- 3.2.2.2 Equipment
- 3.2.2.3 Other costs
- 1.2.3 Directly allocated costs
- 1.2.3.1 Estates
- Other directly allocated costs
- 1.2.4 Indirect costs
- 1.2.5 Exceptions
- 1.3 Overseas costs
- 1.4 Industrial partnership costs
- 1.5 NHS costs
- 1.6 Costs related to Biomedical Catalyst calls
- 1.7 Open access publishing
1.1 Full economic cost/Transparent approach to costing
All grants and fellowships are normally costed on the basis of the full economic costs (FEC) necessary to deliver the research (check with the funder). If a grant is awarded, the MRC will typically fund 80 per cent of the FEC and the RO(s) must agree to find the balance of FEC from other resources. Some awards are made at different FEC rates eg global health. Applicants should refer to the specific call guidance for further information.
Universities and other HEIs will use transparent approach to costing (TRAC) methodology to calculate FEC. Dispensation rates can be used by those ROs who do not comply with TRAC. More information can be found on the UKRI website [2].
1.2 Fund types
Under FEC, costs must be presented within four fund types in the Je-S proposal form (see section 1.7.1 on using Je-S [3]). The fund heading and type will depend on the nature of the cost incurred.
| Fund type | Fund headings | Examples |
| Directly Incurred (DI):
Costs that are explicitly identifiable as arising from the conduct of a project. Charged to projects as the cash value actually spent and supported by an auditable record. |
|
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| Directly Allocated (DA): Costs of resources
used by a project that are shared by other activities. Charged to projects on the basis of estimates. Do not represent directly auditable costs on a project-by-project basis. |
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| Indirect Costs: RO overhead costs | Indirect Costs | Costs of the RO’s administration such as staff, finance, library and some departmental services (set rate agreed for each RO). |
| Exceptions: Costs that would normally
come within the Directly Incurred heading but the Research Council will fund at 100 per cent of FEC. |
|
|
Costs that are NOT eligible include:
- Publication costs (see section 1.7 Open access publishing)
- Computers can be requested but we expect that the university will provide computers and laptops for research staff on continuing contracts (including PIs and CoIs).
- Patent costs and other IP costs are not eligible as universities already receive funding for these from Higher Education Innovation Funding.
MRC and most research funders encourage and support collaborative research projects and team approaches. Salaries may be sought for any member of staff who will be involved in delivering the aims and objectives of the proposed research. This may include postdocs, research fellows, research assistants, research nurses, technicians, statisticians, technologists, methodologists etc. (this list is not exhaustive), but again you need to check the specific call.
The costs associated with the different members of the research team may appear as a Directly Incurred (DI) or Directly Allocated (DA) cost depending on their contribution to the project. There is no limit on the number of research staff included in a project as this will depend on the nature of the research being undertaken. However, applications will be assessed on the basis that the number of staff and their stated time commitment to the work is appropriate and sufficient. See section below on ’Researcher salary costs charged to the project’.
| Section of Je-S proposal form | Role | Fund type |
| Investigator | Principal Investigator | DI if spending 100% of their time on this project OR if actual time known and supported by a full audit trail eg timesheets or project records.
DA if the time spent on the project is estimated and will not be supported by an auditable record. Please note that although a PI can claim 100% of their time on one research project PIs would normally spread their time across several projects and other academic/clinical/administrative duties. |
| Co-Investigator | DI if spending 100% of their time on this project OR if actual time known and supported by a full audit trail eg timesheets or project records.
DA if the time spent on the project is estimated and will not be supported by an auditable record. Exceptions if based overseas. |
|
| Staff | Researcher
This category can include any member of the project team that is not PI or CoI eg postdocs, research fellows, research assistants, research nurses, technicians, statisticians, technologists, methodologists etc. (this list is not exhaustive). |
DI if spending 100% of their time on this project OR if actual time known and supported by a full audit trail eg timesheets or project records
DA if the time spent on the project is estimated and will not be supported by an auditable record Exceptions if based overseas |
| Technician*
Can either be part of a pool of technician effort (should be included as cost/hour) OR Specific (named or unnamed) technician post |
Only where NOT included within estates or indirect cost rates:
DI if spending 100% of their time on this project OR if actual time known and supported by a full audit trail eg timesheets or project records DA if the time spent on the project is estimated and will not be supported by an auditable record |
|
| Other staff | ||
| Other Directly Allocated Costs | Pool staff
Pooled staff effort is usually taken to mean access to staff effort where the specific individuals/posts work on several projects or activities |
Only where NOT included within estates or indirect cost rates
DI if timesheets are in use DA if the time spent on the project is estimated and will not be supported by an auditable record |
| Infrastructure technicians | If the institution uses calculated infrastructure technician rates (separate from estate rates), they should be added to the proposal in the same way as estates and indirect rates, which is as a standard rate/research FTE. | |
| Other |
* Not included in FTE multiplier for indirect and estates
Researcher time charged to the project: The maximum number of hours which may be charged to Research Council and other public-funded projects by researchers is 1,650 hours per annum (equivalent to 37.5 hours a week, 44 weeks a year). All staff information throughout the proposal should be entered using this formula when answering questions regarding percentage of time worked.
Proposals need to show the costs of time to be charged to the project by investigators (PI or CoI). This will be derived from hours on the project and relevant salary rate (which could be based on an average or pool rate). Investigator time, not cost, must be justified in the proposal.
It is the responsibility of the RO to have a process in place to monitor the time claimed by any researcher to ensure that no more than the maximum amount of time is claimed over all grants in which that individual is involved. They should also ensure that estates costs for any individual do not exceed 100 per cent FTE across all grants by all Research Councils.
Researcher salary costs charged to the project: Salaries should be sought at a level commensurate with the skills, responsibilities and expertise necessary to carry out the proposed research activity. This must be justified in the proposal.
If an application includes provision for a named individual this should reflect their current salary and take into account their previous experience, professional contribution and research responsibilities. The level requested must be justified in the proposal.
If the proposal is to be submitted before the RO has agreed details of any pending pay revisions, the Research Councils expect that the proposal will be costed on the basis of the organisation’s present pay structure. Salary increments over the period of the project should be taken into account but future pay awards should not be anticipated.
Clinical trainee salaries should be costed to be commensurate with the appropriate NHS pay scale and training stage for the candidate.
Indirect and estate costs: Only individuals categorised as research staff on the proposal form attract an indirect and estate cost. Technicians and other research support staff, such as computer officers, project managers, engineers etc., are not regarded as research staff and therefore are not included in the FTE multiplier for calculating indirect and estates.
In exceptional cases individuals employed as technicians, nurses etc. can be treated by the RO as research staff, and categorised as such on the proposal form; in such cases the staff would attract an indirect and estate cost.
Investigator’s time and salary is already wholly (100 per cent) supported e.g via active research grants, MRC Unit/Institute funding, or single separate fellowship provided by the Research Councils (includes MRC External Scientific Staff): The application must make it clear that their time and salary has already been wholly funded (in Justification of Resources) and request zero salary (under DA).
Investigator is retired/emeritus/honorary staff: If a PI or CoI is retired/emeritus, the expectation is that their involvement in the project would be covered by a contract within the RO. Where the contract includes reimbursement of time, that cost can be included (up to a maximum equivalent of 37.5 hours a week) on the grant, usually under DI staff costs. If the investigator is not paid a salary by the RO then the application should show their hours attributed to the project but with zero salary requested. Estates and Indirect costs can be requested regardless of whether they are getting a salary/payment or not.
Where a PI is due to retire before the grant has ended, then the grant must also include details of a costed replacement for the remaining period.
PIs and CoIs whose working time is not fully funded either from other Research Council grants or from another source and are not paid a salary by the RO (eg honorary staff), should show their hours attributed to the project, but with zero salary cost request.
Collaborative researchers: The MRC and other funders will often consider meeting the salary costs of senior collaborative researchers, invited from a recognised centre in the UK or abroad, to work in the UK for up to one year giving full-time advice or assistance on the research project. Salaries should be included under the DI fund type and calculated in relation to staff of equivalent status in the host RO.
These are any cost that is explicitly identifiable as arising from the conduct of a project. Cost will be charged as the cash value actually spent and supported by an auditable record.
1.2.2.1 Travel and subsistence
An application may include funds for travel and subsistence for staff assigned to the project where these are required by the nature of the work. Travel costs should be based on the most suitable and economical form of travel. In line with government instruction as of 24 May 2010, no travel should be undertaken by first class (by train), business class (by plane) or the equivalent thereof. All train travel should be by standard class and any flights should be at the economy rate. All applicants should actively seek best value for money where it is practical and feasible and should fully justify why the transport is required.
Costs for attendances at conferences may usually be included, where such attendance will be of direct benefit to the research. Conferences should, as far as possible, be individually identified in the proposal and attendance justified. We would expect funds to be requested for one UK/European conference per year, and one major international conference every other year (expecting 1 per 3-year grant and 2 per 5-year grant). Please note that costs associated with a conference where the date of the conference falls after the end date of the grant cannot be claimed.
Additional child care costs beyond that required to meet the normal contracted requirements of the job, and that are directly related to the project, may be requested if the institutional policy is to reimburse them. This may include attendance at conferences and workshops that are directly related to the project. Childcare costs associated with normal working patterns may not be sought.
The MRC will also consider requests to meet the costs of travel and living expenses for (check with other funders):
- Collaborative working visits on the proposed research
- Learning of special techniques
Subsistence and any catering costs for events should reflect the normal rates applying to the host RO and will need to be fully justified in the justification for resources.
1.2.2.2 Equipment
The MRC will meet the costs of new equipment (including computers and software), the costs of equipment repairs and major spares, the costs of external maintenance agreements and the cost of equipment relocation and installation, where required by the proposed research. You will need to check with your funder if they have the same approach.
Where equipment purchased under a previous MRC (or your funder) grant is to be used in the new project [4], a share of the continuing maintenance cost attributable to the new work can be sought unless already provided by other grant support.
Equipment purchased by universities and colleges on MRC grants or other funder is normally eligible for VAT relief, and VAT should therefore be excluded from proposals.
The host institution should make its own arrangements for applying for exemption from import duty.
Costs to meet externally commissioned surveys (through a procurement/contract with a professional provider) may also be included, providing that the survey is not undertaken by the PI or a CoI. Externally contracted social surveys are funded within the Exceptions heading at 100%.
All equipment must be justified in the ‘Justification of Resources’ attachment as part of your application.
This is a suggested guide on how to describe equipment purchases:
| Heading | Description |
| Description | A brief description of the equipment so that what is being requested can be identified |
| Country of manufacture | The country where the item was manufactured |
| Delivery date | Please estimate this if not known |
| Basic price | Not including VAT |
| Import duty | Mark as 0 if none has been incurred |
| VAT | Mark as 0 when it can be reclaimed by the RO |
| Total | Total cost (excluding any VAT etc that can be reclaimed) |
| Amount sought | Total amount requested (this will normally be 50 per cent of total cost) |
Other allowable costs include any costs that are explicitly identifiable as arising from the conduct of a project.
Animal costs
These costs may be shown as either DI or DA. Applications must include a breakdown of animal costs, including weekly maintenance charges, in the Je-S application form in the section ‘Resources – Animal costs’. See the relevant Je-S help page for more information.
A more detailed justification of the costs incurred should be given in the ‘justification of resources’ attachment. This should detail the total number of animals requested, and justify the resources requested for purchasing, breeding, maintaining and using the chosen number of animals. No experimental or statistical details should be included in this section (see section 4.1 ‘Use of animals’ [5]),
In some cases, adherence to the principles defined in section 4.1 [5] will require additional resources eg for identification of animals (by microchip for example), increased maintenance charges resulting from randomisation procedures, or salary costs associated with obtaining statistical support. The MRC recognises this and will support such costs where fully justified in the appropriate sections.
Sub-contractors
A sub-contractor is contracted by the lead organisation to carry out work or provide a service for the project. They are being paid a set amount for a set piece of work. This should be costed as one sum on the application and must not include any indirect or estates costs. Subcontracting will be funded at the standard full economic costing (FEC) rate for the call (usually 80 per cent). Gene sequencing can be requested at 100 per cent.
RO collaboration, CoIs and project partners are not sub-contractors and should be included in the appropriate section of the application.
All sub-contracted work should be subjected to external competition to ensure best value for money through competitive purchasing processes. Where this is not possible because of the specialist nature of the work involved, it must be fully justified in the justification of resources.
Other costs directly attributable to the project may include:
- Consumables
- Recruitment and advertising costs for staff directly employed on the project, provided they occur after the date of the award letter
- Relocation costs may be included for named staff who will be moving, provided the RO has a general policy in place to pay relocation costs and they are not already included as part of indirect costs
- Additional childcare, beyond that required to meet the normal contracted requirements of the job, and that are directly related to the project, may be requested if the institutional policy is to reimburse them. However, childcare costs associated with normal working patterns may not be sought.
- Scanning/surveys
- Cost of the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) registration fee
Please note that publication costs should not be included. See section 3.7 [6] Open access publishing for more information.
1.2.3 Directly Allocated costs
These comprise any direct cost that will be calculated on the basis of estimates.
Estate costs provide a share of the cost of providing the physical infrastructure for research. These costs may include building and premises costs, basic services and utilities and any clerical staff and equipment maintenance or operational costs that have not been included under other cost headings.
Estates rates will be calculated by each RO using TRAC methodology, so will vary between ROs and also between departments within ROs. A single figure will be required at time of application.
Only individuals categorised as research staff on the proposal form attract an estate cost. Technicians and other research support staff, such as computer officers, project managers, engineers etc., are not regarded as research staff and therefore are not included in the FTE multiplier for calculating estates costs.
Where any named individual will be working away from the RO on long-term secondment for over six months during the project, estates costs should not be charged for the period of secondment. No reductions should be made for shorter term absences.
Where the level of staff effort to be awarded is different to that requested, the RO will be required to re-calculate within 10 working days the estates and indirect costs, using the same costing basis and the TRAC rates in force at time of application.
1.2.3.2 Other directly allocated costs
These comprise all other direct costs calculated on the basis of estimates, which are not included within the ROs estates or indirect cost rates.
Items that can be included within this heading are:
- Charge out costs for use of major facilities
- Charge out costs for use of existing equipment
- Charge out costs for ‘pool staff’, departmental technical and administrative services
- Animal costs – see section 3.2.2.3
Charge out costs will vary by RO and this will be taken into consideration during the review process.
These include the costs of administration such as staff, finance, library and some departmental services.
Like estates, indirect costs will be calculated by the RO and a single figure is required for the application. Calculations should be made using eligible FTE in the same way as estates (see section 1.2.3.1).
Please note that indirect costs cannot normally be included for technicians and research support staff.
Applicants should consult with the relevant programme manager about the scientific justification of their exceptional cost and in the case of overseas CoIs, be able to demonstrate that required expertise was not available in the UK.
1.3 Overseas costs
The costs for work undertaken at an overseas organisation are admissible and should be discussed with the funder submission of the application.
Investigators or project partners at overseas organisations are generally not eligible to receive indirect and estates costs. However, where the research is being undertaken in a developing country the some funders like the MRC may contribute towards indirect and estates costs at its discretion if it will assist in developing research capacity. Applicants should seek guidance from the MRC programme manager in advance of submitting the application.
The following table summarises which costs are are often admissible and at what rate the MRC will pay these costs.
| Description | Discuss with programme manager in advance | MRC FEC contribution (per cent) |
|---|---|---|
| Costs for overseas CoIs and any locally employed staff eg per cent of actual salary, travel and expenses. Must be entered as exceptions. | Yes | 100 |
| Costs charged by the overseas organisation and associated with the research eg consumables, field work etc. Must be entered as exceptions. |
Yes |
100 |
| A contribution towards indirect and estates costs at the overseas organisation, where the research is being undertaken in a developing country, where it can be shown that it will assist in developing research capacity (calculated as 20 per cent of the overseas organisations’ directly incurred costs). Must be entered as exceptions. | Yes | 100 |
| The costs of any service or product procured (for use in the UK) from an overseas supplier (eg mouse, antibody strains, cells lines, assays etc). | No | 80 |
| Travel and subsistence (including bench fees) for UK-based researchers going abroad to undertake work. This does not include costs incurred directly by the overseas organisation when the researcher is active in that country. | No | 80 |
Overseas costs may not usually include:
- Overheads (estate or indirect costs) for an overseas CoI, or any locally employed staff in a developed country.
- Overseas project partners costs – this may apply, for example, where a project partner provides guidance/advice in return for receipt of research benefit but where intellectual input is not sufficient for CoI status.
1.4 Industrial partner costs
The level of contribution expected from the industrial partner depends on the intellectual property arrangements between the academic and industrial partners. Please refer to MICAs [7] for further information including what can be included under industrial partner costs. Where IP arrangements have been pre-negotiated, the industrial partner is expected to contribute a minimum of 25 per cent for basic research or 50 per cent for applied research of the total project costs (ie total cost of project industry costs and academic costs).
Full details should be entered in section 4 of the MICA form and the sum entered as DI Other on the Je-S form.
1.5 NHS costs
Applications may be made for research costs associated with NHS studies. Costs included in these applications comprise of:
- Research costs
- NHS treatment costs
- NHS support costs
NHS support costs: These are the additional patient care costs associated with the research, which would end once the research and development activity in question has stopped, even if the patient care service involved continues to be provided. These might cover items such as extra patient tests, extra in-patient days and extra nursing attention. Researchers should contact their local NHS research and development department initially. If they are unable to help directly or if there is no local NHS research and development department, contact the local Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN) Senior Manager.
NHS treatment costs: These are the patient care costs that would continue to be incurred if the patient care service in question continued to be provided after the research and development activity has stopped. In determining NHS treatment costs the applicant must assume that the patient care service being assessed will continue even though there may be no plans for it to do so. Where patient care is being provided which differs from the normal, standard treatment for that condition (either an experimental treatment or a service in a different location from where it would normally be given), 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 trust partner(s) and their commissioners.
If applying for NHS support costs or treatment costs, applicants should complete an NHS Costs proforma/template, which is available to download from the MRC website (XLSX, 57KB) [8]. Please note that Je-S does not allow the upload of MS Excel files, therefore please convert the completed template to a PDF and upload it to the application as a ‘Letter of Support’. Please detail the file’s description as ‘NHS support and treatment costs’ .
A ‘Letter of Support’ must also be included with the application from the lead NHS provider acknowledging the amount requested and confirming that these are the likely costs.
For further information, please see:
- Responsibility for meeting patient care costs
- Attributing revenue costs of externally funded non-commercial research in the NHS (ARCO)
- EL(97)77: Meeting patient care costs associated with research and development in the NHS detailed guidance
Additional advice and guidance can be obtained from your local Trust’s Research and Development Office or from the Department of Health Research and Development Finance team.
| For research based in Scotland | Advice can be sought from the Chief Scientist’s Office. For advice on NHS funding and policy, research ethics, IP, information and communication, please contact: Chief Scientist’s Office, telephone: 0131 244 2246 |
| For research based in Wales | Refer to NHS research and development in Wales |
| For research based in Northern Ireland | Refer to the NHS research and development in Northern Ireland. |
1.6 Costs related to Biomedical Catalyst calls
- Biomedical Catalyst: Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) [9]
- Biomedical Catalyst: Regenerative Medicine Research Committee (RMRC)
For the two schemes above supporting clinical evaluation, certain costs in excess of £50,000 for sub-contracts with contract ROs (CROs) may be paid at 100 per cent. This is limited to activities that meet all three of the criteria outlined below:
- Are required to be undertaken to regulatory standards by a competent authority to allow clinical evaluation
- Do not involve creativity/intellectual input to the development of the entity by the CRO
- Require access to skills and resources not available in academia, where this can be robustly justified.
Examples of eligible activities:
- Pre-clinical toxicology package carried out under Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)
- Synthesis/ manufacture of an entity carried out under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
Examples of typically ineligible activities:
- Testing an intervention for efficacy in animal models
- Iterative development of an intervention (eg medicinal chemistry)
- Preparation of regulatory submission
If an applicant is considering applying for 100 per cent FEC for such activities they must discuss with the relevant programme manager before submitting. The programme manager will advise on suitability and the mechanism for inclusion of the exceptional costs.
1.7 Open access publishing & dissemination
To consider
Click Here to review the full MRC guidance [10]