After funds are awarded

Introduction

If you have received a funding decision on a grant application, please inform the Head of Research Facilitation and include all relevant documentation from the awarding body.

Where it is necessary to negotiate a contract with a funding body, the process of setting up a grant may be delayed. Research Facilitation work with the Mathematical Institute's Research Grants Manager and the University's Research Services Office to set up the award promptly. Often the only requirement of a Principal Investigator (PI) at this stage is to indicate a starting date for the project (which may sometimes be later than the date given in the funding application).

Once the award has been set up, it will be possible to spend against the grant. Research Facilitation will remind PIs of the details of the budget for the grant and of any reporting requirements at the award stage, and the Research Grants Manager will monitor grant expenditure throughout award period. In almost all cases, unspent funds (particularly those for travel and subsistence) must be returned to the awarding body and may not be spent after the end date of the grant. It is therefore important to review the grant expenditure statements that the Research Grants Manager issues to PIs periodically.

During the grant period, PIs may need to consider

• advertising for, recruiting and supporting Research Associates,
• advertising studentships,
• purchasing IT equipment,
• miscellaneous expenditure (including travel and subsistence),
• hosting visitors,
• access to research outputs and acknowledgement of funding and
• interim and final reports.

Procedures for each of these are described below. For further advice, contact the Research Grants Manager.

Advertising for, recruiting and supporting Research Associates

If funds have been awarded permitting the appointment of one or more Research Associate, PIs should consider carefully the timing of advertisements, allowing for delays in obtaining a visa. What follows sets out the procedure for recruiting staff.

1. The selection committee chair must have undergone an appropriate briefing offered by the University within the previous four years, details of which can be found here.
2. The selection committee, usually chosen and convened by the PI, should be comprised of at least three people, not all of the same sex.
3. Having convened a panel, the panel chair should contact the Personnel Administrator by email, including in the email a paragraph describing the post to be advertised.
4. The Personnel Administrator will work with the panel chair to agree the form of further particulars (including the selection criteria), which will be based on template documents held and maintained by the Personnel Administrator.
5. Once the panel chair has approved the advertisement, selection criteria and further particulars, the Personnel Administrator will arrange for the post to be advertised and will maintain a file on the appointment.
6. The selection committee must record the reasons for its decisions on shortlisting for each candidate, basing the reasons solely on the selection criteria for the post.
7. The Personnel Administrator will arrange interviews (telephone interviews should be conducted for overseas applicants wherever possible) and guide the panel chair through the next steps.
8. The panel chair should produce a report on the selection process, providing details of shortlisting and final candidate selection. The report should be emailed to the brenda [dot] willoughby [-at-] maths [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk (Personnel Administrator).
9. The department will issue a letter of appointment.

Salaries: For most grants, Research Associate posts will have been costed to allow flexibility in the salary paid, though the exact amount paid will be determined by the number of years' experience of the Research Associate. The Personnel Administrator will ensure that the appropriate range of possible salaries is included in the advertisement. If funds exist for multiple Research Associates and, eg, one Research Associate has less experience than assumed when preparing the budget at the point of application, the balance of funds may be used on appointing more experienced Research Associates to remaining posts.

Timescale: While no two cases are the same, it is not unusual for the period between an offer being accepted by a candidate and the candidate taking-up post to exceed four months. The Personnel Administrator may be able to offer more guidance on likely time-scales.

Supervisors' responsibilities: Further information on the University's recruitment and selection processes can be found here, and supervisors should take the time to read the code of practice on staff recruitment and selection. Once a researcher take-up post, the supervisor must meet obligations under the code of practice for the employment and career development of research staff. In particular, supervisors must

• hold a meeting with the researcher within the first two weeks to clarify the job description, the degree of freedom for pursuing the research objectives, expectations about output and progress, publication protocols, teaching opportunities and the researcher's own aspirations and skills;
• hold a formal review meeting with the researcher within the first year as part of the probationary review arrangements covering performance to-date, the researcher's and the supervisor’s expectations about a career trajectory and a professional development plan; and
• hold a formal meeting with the researcher nine to twelve months before the end of the contract to clarify the likelihood of further grant funding and options if this is not likely (the departmental-administrator [-at-] maths [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk (Head of Administration and Finance) and/or Research Facilitation can assist in such circumstances);
• hold personal development review meetings with the researcher if requested.

Advertising studentships

Most studentships begin on 01 October, though it is possible to start a studentship at any point during the year. Studentships must be advertised for a minimum of one week but are usually advertised for one month. To minimize the time after the closing date before applications are received by the PI, it is advisable to select a closing date that falls on a Thursday and not a Friday.

Once a college attachment has been arranged, PIs can download the template, adapt it for their particular needs, and email it to the Graduate Studies Assistant, who will review and place the advertisement. If further particulars are to be issued that expand on the project description contained within the advertisement, ensure that these are sent to the Graduate Studies Assistant together with the advertisement.

See here if you have questions on the eligibility of a student for EPSRC stipend or fee payments.

Purchasing IT equipment

Networked computers are present in every office and in all public rooms, and each desk is equipped with a personal workstation. In addition to the Mathematical Institute's standard computing arrangements, where funds exist in the grant to purchase further computing equipment (frequently a notebook computer), the PI should email head-of-ict [-at-] maths [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk, indicating the amount of money available and any particular hardware or software requirements. The Mathematical Institute procures standard configurations of eg notebook computers, though specific requests for alternative equipment may be made. Once agreement has been reached, the Head of ICT will order the equipment, take delivery, and arrange software installation. From agreeing an order to receiving the equipment often takes less than a month.

Note that all electronic devices (including smartphones, phablets and tablets) must be purchased through the Head of ICT.

Miscellaneous expenditure (including travel and subsistence)

The most common items of expenditure for grants are travel and subsistence costs to attend conferences or to visit collaborators. Research Facilitation will remind PIs of the details of the budget for the grant at the award stage; the documentation will include an itemized list of the funds available for each person on the project to attend conferences and undertake research trips, and will detail the funds available for the purchase of miscellaneous items such as books.

PIs should download and complete the expenses claim form found here, and submit the form to the val [-at-] maths [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk (Research Grants Manager). All claim forms relating to grant expenditure must be submitted by the PI and marked clearly with "to be charged to my [identifier] grant". It is no longer possible to claim per diem, since for the University to meet tax requirements claims must be supported by receipts or an equivalent proof of purchase.

Exceptional items of proposed expenditure or requests to spend awarded funds in a manner different to that proposed originally, should be referred to the val [-at-] maths [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk (Research Grants Manager).

Details of the University's expense procedures can be found here.

Hosting visitors

PIs with funds to host visitors should ensure that the Sponsorship of Visitors form is completed in advance of any proposed visits. The form, accompanying instructions and details on when and how to obtain a visa can be found here. Expense claims relating to incoming visitors should follow the procedure set out above; in particular, PIs should ensure that visitors are aware of the university's expenses procedures, and should check and submit claim forms personally. Details of the University's expense procedures can be found here.

Access to research outputs and acknowledgement of funding

If you hold an RCUK grant (including BBSRC and EPSRC grants), be aware that RCUK requires authors to ensure that published research articles arising from sponsored research are available on an Open Access basis (free, unrestricted and online) through any appropriate route. Details of the requirements can be found here.

For EPSRC-sponsored research, articles published in journals or deposited in institutional or subject-based repositories should include the following acknowledgement: “This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/insert_grant_number].” Other funders often have similar requirements, details of which can be found in the award terms and conditions.

Interim and final reports

Notices of grant award normally stipulate the required scientific and financial reporting required, both periodically during the project period (interim reports) and after the project has been completed (final reports). PIs are responsible for scientific reports, while the Research Grants Manager is responsible for financial reports. Scientific and financial reports are ordinarily submitted separately, but in cases where they are to be submitted together, PIs should liaise with the val [-at-] maths [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk (Research Grants Manager).

For Research Council grants, scientific outcomes are reported via ROS. Final expenditure reports on Research Council grants are handled separately by the Research Grants Manager and the University's Research Accounts office.