For Equipment applications to RCUK from 1 May 2011, the following rules apply:
- Individual items of minor research equipment under £10k will now be treated as Other Directly incurred costs. This is an increase from the current £3k threshold.
- Further justification for all items of equipment costing between £10k and the OJEU threshold value (net of VAT £172,514: The research organisation will need to provide extra justification (in the Justification of Resources or for STFC in the Case for Support) for these items, providing evidence of an evaluation of the use of existing relevant capital assets at their organisation, others in their locality or whom they have strong links with. They will be expected to make a contribution towards the cost of the equipment. Given that capital provision across councils has been reduced by about 50%, contributions of this order will be expected.
- Business case required for all items of equipment above the OJEU threshold value (net of VAT £172,514): From 1 May 2011, all requests for single capital items of equipment should be accompanied by a 2 page business case outlining the strategic need for the equipment. RCUK will decide the strategic location for these items and will potentially fund them at 100%. Each Council will have flexibility in relation to the funding of equipment to negotiate with potential grant recipients to achieve best value from the limited funds at its disposal.
In the light of the above changes any requests for matched funding from the University for capital equipment in Research Council bids where the item cost (including VAT) is between £10,000 and OJEU limit ( 2014 - £172,514), will need to be approved by the University’s Research Technology Infrastructure Committee (RTICG) or its delegated authority.
Before any request are put forward, please consult your CRSO/RSP or Facility Manager to ensure that no equivalent equipment with capacity are available on campus. These can be checked against the University’s asset register (https://www.planonweb.bham.ac.uk:8443/webclient/client/login). Before submission on JeS to RCUK, a letter will be required from the Finance Office signed by Erica Conway, Deputy Director of Finance agreeing to the 50% contribution from the University for equipment between . This will need to be uploaded with your application. Please contact your Research Finance contact 3 days before submission for the letter to be issued and signed, once all the approvals are in place
- For equipment costs (cumulatively for the application ) under £50K, ICG has delegated its authority to Erica Conway, Deputy Director of Finance for review and approval.
- For equipment costs (cumulatively for the application) over £50K and up to £500K, all bids for institutional support will need to be submitted on the Template format ( available from your RSP or facility manager) and be of no more than 2 sides of A4. RTICG meets once a month, and any case for support should be submitted to RTICG a week before the meeting. Urgent bids are not encouraged, but any requiring consideration in advance of the next RTICG may be reviewed via email with a week’s notice, if they are supported as such by an RTICG member who is not the Deputy Director of Finance.
- Membership of RTICG are :-
- PVC Estates & Infrastructure (Chair)
- PVC Research & Knowledge Transfer
- College Directors of Research for MDS, LES & EPS
- Deputy Director of Finance
- Head of Strategic Research Projects and Partnerships
- The Secretary to the Group is Antony Jones
- Any infrastructure element of capital will need to be approved by ICG
Guidance on Completing a Fellowship Proposal/Non Staff Resources/Equipment
Guidance on Completing a Standard Grant Proposal/ Equipment