UKRI sets out position on accurately costing projects
UKRI has released a position statement on the accurate costing of research projects, targeting the “gap” between the actual cost of conducting research and the amount of funding that is requested in grant applications which it identified in its financial sustainability report last year.
The statement forms part of the funder’s work on research sustainability – it is suggested that applicants making judgements which understate the true costs of an activity can be a source of “undue financial burden” on research institutions.
This follows from a report for UKRI from the Innovation and Research Caucus last year, which raised the possibility that academics were tending to underprice projects in the belief that this would increase their success rates. The new position statement stresses that this perception “is misleading and exacerbates unsustainable practices.”
An accompanying article on LinkedIn from UKRI deputy director for funding services Robyn Thomas stresses that “UKRI does not favour artificially low costs” and that applicants must be clear on all costs associated with a project – “not just the elements that feel ‘safe’ to request.”
Thomas identifies four actions that are needed from applicants, research organisations, reviewers, and panel members to ensure that proposals are accurately costed: accurately costing the full scope of work, avoiding assumptions that artificially reduce budgets, ensuring assessors are trained to evaluate costs confidently and consistently, and promoting understanding of TRAC guidance.
The new statement comes alongside other moves announced last March to improve cost recovery, including the removal of expectations for institutions to match funding as a default position. The Innovation and Research Caucus report found that staff undercosting was one of the three top reasons for low cost-recovery in UKRI-funded projects. The other two were equipment and facilities (in particular the difficulty of accurately costing these, as well as increases in energy prices), and the effects of inflation more broadly.