Costs guidance for grants

Salaries for grant staff

Researchers on fixed term contracts to work specifically on the funded project. This may include fellows, research assistants, data managers, students (except overseas student fees), technicians and nurses. Salary costs may be used to fund salary, the employer’s national insurance contribution, and an employer’s pension contribution which will not be higher than the rate used by the University Superannuation Scheme (USS) or NHS pension scheme.

Salary costs for Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators are generally ineligible costs except as provided in our Policy on Funding Investigator Salaries.

Research nurse costs are not eligible for inclusion in grant applications. In exceptional cases, where a study is not eligible for research nurse support through local infrastructure such as NIHR, CRUK Centre, ECMC funding or equivalent, then these costs can be included for consideration by the funding committee.

Laboratory expenses

Laboratory chemicals and materials (e.g. reagents, isotopes, peptides, enzymes, antibodies, gases, proteins, cell/tissue/bacterial culture, plastic ware and glassware), as well as any associated charges for shipping, delivery and freight. Please note that ‘bench fees’ will only be covered if they are for named researchers on the grant, and only if the Host Institution confirms that they do not include charges for unacceptable costs.

Protective clothing

Gloves, lab coats (if CRUK branded), goggles, protective shoes

Equipment purchase costs

Costs may include purchase, delivery, and installation of scientific equipment where that equipment is specific to the grant.

Equipment maintenance costs

For equipment that has been purchased on a CRUK grant, where the warranty has expired.

Equipment access costs

Access fees charged by usage or size of grant where the equipment has not been purchased on a CRUK grant.

Personal computing costs

Where justified, personal computing costs for named individuals engaged to work specifically on the grant (capped at £1,000 per person over the duration of the grant). Standard per-unit IT charges are not acceptable.

Animal research costs

Animal purchase and transportation costs, maintenance (including food), Home Office Project Licences and experimentation costs. (Animal handling training costs and facility licence costs are not covered).

Cell line authentication costs

Costs to support the authentication of cell lines, for example, screening for contamination by mycoplasma, STR profiling for human cell lines, or DNA fingerprinting for non-human cells. We will also cover purchase of cell lines from cell banks such as ATCC.

Data sharing costs

Archiving, repository fees, data storage costs and data management services. Data management and sharing costs must be reasonable and proportionate in the context of the overall grant. Data sharing costs do not include open access publication fees.

PhD student expenses in the UK

Stipends, running expenses and fees.

Patient involvement costs

For patient involvement representatives sitting on steering groups or advisory boards specifically relating to the funded research, reasonable travel and subsistence costs, as well as fees or honoraria where applicable.

Fees or honoraria should be no greater than:

• £80 per day (where more than 4 hours is contributed)
• £50 per half day (where between 2-4 hours is contributed)
• £30 for up to 2 hours, or
• where the patient involvement representative is sitting on a committee which includes other professional experts who are offered an honorarium, an amount equal to the honorarium offered to those other professional experts.

Subject and volunteer expenses

Recruitment (excluding participation fees), reasonable travel and refreshment costs for subjects and volunteers in population studies. Incentives (such as cash or gift vouchers) for participation are not eligible costs unless specifically set out in the Application Guidelines for the particular scheme.

Fees for professional or technical services

Consultancy costs for a specific piece of work where appropriately justified. This may include paying an individual who is not a co-investigator or ongoing contributor to perform technical services such as processing samples, data handling. Where appropriately justified these costs may be paid to individuals based outside the UK.

Global Talent Visa Application Costs

Global Talent Visa application fees for CRUK fellowship holders or grant staff whose salaries are funded by CRUK. (Other types of visa application costs for CRUK grantholders or CRUK-funded posts are not eligible costs – see ‘HR Costs’ in the ‘Unacceptable Costs’ table below).

Recruitment

Post advertising, relocation costs, interviewee expenses

If relating to recruiting patients/participants on a clinical trial or other study involving human participants.

Lead Applicants on CRUK fellowships can ask for up to £1,000 personal removal costs if moving to start the fellowship at a new institution if justified in the application and the HI does not pay relocation costs.

If relating to recruitment of posts to a grant

Travel, Subsistence and Childcare, Conferences, Meetings

Not eligible costs on grant applications unless the application guidelines for the scheme specifically state otherwise.

However, grant underspend may be used to cover reasonable travel, subsistence, childcare and conference costs if the person travelling is funded by the grant and the purpose of travel relates to the grant.

Confirmation that the above criteria have been met must be obtained from the office before underspend is used in this way.

First class travel

Meetings organised/hosted by CRUK where attendee costs are reimbursed directly by CRUK (these costs should not be charged to grants)

Catering / Hospitality

Not eligible on grant applications, but may come from grant underspend if for collaborative meetings relating to the grant and not excessive in cost

If for QQRs or reasons unrelated to research (e.g. staff parties)

Training

If related to the science of the award eg. scientific equipment

If not science specific or general to HR eg. IT skills, personal development etc.

Postage / Courier costs

If posting scientific materials (including, if relevant, research survey responses), delivery costs

General postage costs

Publication costs

Page charges, costs of colour printing, reprints but may be paid from grant underspend but are not eligible at application stage.

Publication costs are unacceptable in grant application budgets.

Open access costs (article processing charges or APCs)

CRUK-funded researchers at UK universities eligible for a CRUK open access block grant should recover APC costs from their institution’s open access block grant. If your institution is not eligible for an open access block grant, or if the institution’s annual block grant has been exhausted, grant underspend may be used to fund APCs incurred during course of grant.

APC costs should not be included in application budgets.

Software in excess of ‘personal computing costs’ (see acceptable costs)

If specialised software specific to the funded research (eg. specialised bioinformatics software)

Generic office software

Website design, development and hosting

If appropriately justified and relevant to the success of the grant activities.

Telephone conference call costs

If in lieu of travel expenses for attending a meeting. Also acceptable if incurred in the course of gathering data as part of the grant activities (e.g. telephone interview costs for subjects in behavioural studies). (Infrastructure costs remain the responsibility of host institution).

All other cases

Regulatory licences/fees

Human Tissues Act

Only acceptable if outlined on the GAL.

Article retrieval costs

Grants supporting systematic reviews

Printing / Photocopying

All trials and Centres

Grants supporting studies with human participants where surveys and similar materials are required

Only acceptable if outlined on the GAL.

Stationery

Paper, pens, toner, office postage

All trials and Centres

Only acceptable if outlined on the GAL.

Mobile phone costs

Research Nurse mobile costs on trials, staff undertaking field work or telephone interviews of human subjects in population studies

Not acceptable

Promotional Material

Pens, mugs, calendars, nurse uniforms, business cards.

CTUs, Centres, ECMCs

Only acceptable if outlined on the GAL.

General estate costs

Key cutting, electrical point installations, waste disposal, cleaning services, removal costs etc

Furniture

Chairs, desks, lab furniture, telephone handsets and conference call hubs

Health and Safety

First aid kit, hazard signs

Utilities costs

Electricity, gas, water costs

Standard telephone and internet costs

Broadband, mobile line rental and calls

Standard IT charges

Standard per unit IT costs

Phone / computer accessories

Drives, cases, chargers, batteries over and above the ‘Personal Computing Costs’ cap set out under ‘Acceptable costs’

Fees to professional organisations

Journal subscriptions, professional membership

Misc

Paper wipes, laundry, reference books

Departmental support staff

Secretarial support, librarians, general lab support staff

HR Costs and taxes

Eye tests, CRB checks, redundancy, apprenticeship levies, visa application costs other than Global Talent Visa application costs set out under 'Acceptable costs'

Shared catering

Coffee, milk, water, vending machines and maintenance

Printing / Photocopying

Rental of copiers

Insurance

Laptop, travel etc

Gifts

Gift vouchers for trial participants

Insufficiently evidenced costs

No copy of invoice or receipt available