Managing your Research Project

Effective grant management contributes to successful project outcomes and enhances a researcher’s track record and chance of future funding. It is important that your project is managed in accordance with University policy and procedures and in line with the requirements of the funding body.

Funding agreement/conditions of award

Funding bodies monitor the funds they provide to an institution, and require that funds are spent as agreed, that milestones are met and that the project is completed on time. In some cases, sponsors may take into account a researcher’s ability to deliver agreed outcomes in a timely fashion when considering a subsequent funding request. Not abiding by the conditions of award/funding agreement may lead to termination of funding.

It is therefore important that CI(s) are fully aware of the terms and conditions of an award, and their obligations under the award. This information can usually be found in the body of the Funding Agreement or Conditions of Award. In some cases, invoicing and reporting milestones may be located in the Schedule to an Agreement.

For information on funding agreements visit the following for the Australian Research Council (opens in a new window) and National Health & Medical Research Council (opens in a new window). If you have any uncertainty about your grant conditions, please contact the Research Grants Officer in the Office of Research Service.

Invoicing on milestones/tasks/expenditure

Some project Agreements/Contracts stipulate payments to be made in concert with milestones being met and reports being generated. If this is the case the Chief Investigator will be contacted to establish if the milestone has been completed and accepted by the funding body before invoicing.

Some Agreements do not have milestones but require an invoice to be sent upon completion of certain tasks or expenditure. In such instances, we request that if the Chief Investigator knows an invoice should be raised or becomes aware that one should have, email the Research Accountant in the Office of Research Services with the required information.

All of the following information will be needed in your email to enable an invoice to be sent:

  • Contact information for the organisation being invoiced: name of the organisation; name of any contact person in the organisation; ABN if known; street address; postal address; telephone number; and fax number.
  • Project Identification: research project title; chief investigator's name; oracle project number; and payment amount if it is/is not inclusive of GST.
Please notify the Research Grants Officer of changes to deadlines, milestones or invoicing dates to enable the database to be updated and further invoices to be generated as required.

Employment on research projects

This advice is provided for researchers who wish to employ someone casually. Detailed information on casual employment can be found at the Office of People and Culture.

To assist in calculating the costs involved in the employment of a casual research assistant refer to our Casual Employment Calculator (PDF, 952.83 KB).

The choice of an appropriate HEW level is a matter of marrying together qualifications and appropriate kinds of tasks:

  1. Basic research assistance - undergraduate degree - starts at HEW Level 5 step 1  (example of tasks might be: photocopying, document searching, filing and sorting, data entry, literature searching under direction, preparation of annotated bibliography).
  2. Staff with an Honours degree or equivalent would start at HEW Level 5 Step 3 (examples of tasks might be: literature searching under supervision, preparation of critical readings of literature, data collection under supervision, data analysis under supervision).
  3. Senior Research Assistant - Masters Degree or equivalent and would generally start at HEW Level 6 Step 1 (the equivalence may be other postgraduate qualifications as well as significant professional experience that assists the project in achieving a high level of success).
  4. Senior Research Assistant or Research Associate - PhD and would generally start at Level 6 Step 4 or, depending on experience, could start at Level 7 Step 1.  At these middle levels, research assistants often make intellectual contributions to the project: providing critical readings of literature, identifying methodological issues, and making insights into data analysis. Researchers should discuss acknowledging that contribution beyond the traditional footnoted 'thanks' - see UWS Research Code of Practice.

Account information

When a research project is successful and all partners have signed off on the agreement, Office of Research Services establishes a project file and requests a cost centre/project number from Finance. You will receive an email notifying you of this new cost centre/project number once it is established.

If you have indicated that ethics is required for your project, you will receive an email asking for the approval number before the project account is established.

You can access your account details at any time via the Finance WEB Portal or check your account balance via the Finance Web Reports.

You may have been given multiple project numbers for your research project. Finance project numbers are allocated by the type of funding being received, e.g. Local Government, Australian Business, International. Different types of funding need to be kept separated for Finance reporting purposes.

Travel on research projects

The CI is responsible for managing funds received for the project and ensuring that there is budget provision for travel before incurring travel expenditure.

When travelling an 'e-TAN' via the UWS Travel Portal (opens in a new window) must be completed and forwarded to the School Dean or Institute Director who will check to ensure the budget included a travel component and there are sufficient funds to cover the travel costs. Once confirmed the School Dean or Institute Director will authorise the expenditure and forward to Finance for processing.

It is important that e-Tan’s and travel arrangements on research accounts are sent with enough time for this process to be undertaken.

Timeframes and closing of accounts

Researchers should ensure the timely completion of projects and grants. All funds must normally be expended by the completion date of the project. In some cases, funding bodies will require return of unspent monies. Funding bodies may withhold a certain percentage of the funding until they receive a final report.

Funding bodies usually require that the funding body be acknowledged in publications arising from the grant. Details such as these are stated in the award agreements or funding rules and must be noted carefully at the outset of the project.

The Office of Research Services monitors and reviews accounts when the project completion date arises to ensure all funds have been expended according to budget and begin a process of closing the account. Should large amounts of funding remain unspent the CI will be contacted to determine if all expenditure for this project has been accounted for correctly or whether the remaining funds need to be returned to the funding body.

Financial acquittals/audits

Each funding agency has different financial reporting requirements to carry forward unspent funds from previous years and to financially finalise projects.

In most cases, the financial reporting requirements are milestones in the agreement and will be automatically dealt with by the Office of Research Services. The Research Accountant in ORS will contact you directly if they require additional information to complete a report.

If you receive a request from a funding body for a financial statement or audit of funds, it should be directed to the Office of Research Services Research Accountant in the first instance.

Delegations on research projects

The University has devolved the delegation of research funds expenditure to School and selected Academic Organisation Units (AOU) within Schools as per the current Delegations Policy.

The Office of Research Services provides the Executive Deans Unit with a summary of a newly established research project including a summary of the approved budget. The Executive Deans Unit should ensure this information is provided to all delegated officers for that project. A more detailed budget may be available in the application for funding, a copy of which is held by the researcher. This detailed information should be sought from the individual researcher if more information is required to make a decision on research expenditure under the policy.

Project Reporting Requirements

Major reporting milestones for your project are entered into the Research Services Database, Research and Higher Education System (RHESYS). RHESYS then generates an automated email reminder to the first named Chief Investigator prior to when the milestone or report etc deliverable is due.

For information on project reporting requirements visit the following for the Australian Research Council (opens in a new window) and National Health and Medical Research Council (opens in a new window).

For internal grants use the UWS Internal Final Report Form (PDF, 963.47 KB).

Changes/Variations/Extensions

Changes may occur during the life of your project. For instance, personnel may withdraw or need to seek leave from the project (eg one of the CIs; an industry partner; a Fellow or Student Scholarship holder) OR you may experience delays which prevent you from completing project milestones on time, meeting reporting requirements, or expending funds within the award period.

In the event of any such circumstances, you must advise the funding body as soon as possible and make a request to vary the conditions of your award. If you believe you need to request a variation of your grant conditions, please contact the Research Grants Officer in the Office of Research Services as soon as possible.

Each funding body has different procedures relating to the Variation of grant conditions. These requirements are generally stated in the sponsor’s conditions of grant, and may also be available on the sponsor’s website.

It is essential that all advice and requests to sponsors for a Variation of award should be submitted through the Office of Research Services, so the University can hold a complete file of information pertaining to every award held within the institution. It is also essential that all important changes - particularly those with financial implications - are agreed to by the University and the Funding Body.

Requesting a change to an Internal UWS Grant

Internal Grant Conditions of Award specify a project end date. Extensions to this date will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Requests must be approved by the Director of Research Services and must be requested at least one month prior to the end date.

Varying an Australian Research Council Grant

Variations occur when a successful grant needs to be modified from the original project design. These changes must be managed as outlined in the Funding Agreement between the University and the ARC. Request for changes to projects normally require letters of support from all participants (Chief Investigators, Partner Investigators, ARC Fellows, Partner Organisations) on the grant.

The ARC will only consider variations sent by the Office of Research Services. Researchers should notify the Research Grants Officer, of any changes as soon as possible. ORS will collate all required documents, including a letter from the University and a completed Variation Form.

Change of Personnel

This variation covers a range of scenarios, from a Chief Investigator’s untimely death, to a change of status of a Chief Investigator to a Partner Investigator. For this type of variation, the University needs to show the ARC that the investigators are still able to fulfil the original outcomes before the ARC will agree to continue the funding.

First Named Chief Investigator

Similar to a transfer, all Chief Investigators, Partner Investigators, and Partner Organisations need to write to the Office of Research Office agreeing to the change of Personnel. Some changes require a CV, if a new person is joining the grant.

Other Variations

Please contact the Research Grants Officer directly to discuss other variations such as: Request for Deferred Start, Part-Time Work and/or Suspension of Fellowship; Request for Relinquishment or Termination of Funding; Changes to APAI - Changes to APAI component timeframe; Changes to APAI - APAI Funding; Claim for Relocation Expenses.

    Varying an National Health and Medical Research Council grant

    The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) conditions for Variation of Award and details for each NHMRC scheme are available at the NHMRC website (opens in a new window).

    If you wish to vary an NHMRC grant, please contact the Research Grants Officer in the first instance. All variation requests must be submitted through the Office of Research Services on the NHMRC designated form, or by exchange of letter. Generally, unspent allowances will automatically carry-forward to the next funding year.

    Varying other external grants

    Funding bodies will have various processes. In some cases, where there are no financial consequences (eg you are requesting an extension of time or change of personnel), it may be possible to request the Variation and receive approval, via an exchange of emails.

    If you receive additional funding, or further deliverables are added – resulting in financial consequences – the variation must have the approval of the Director, Research Services.

    In cases where the UWS need to initiate an amendment to an agreement, a request from the CI to the Research Grants Officer, in writing (email) is required, outlining the business case for change. Office of Research Services will forward the request to the sponsor.

    Transfer of Grants

    Most external sponsors will allow you to transfer your grant to or from eligible institutions within Australia. If you are leaving UWS and wish to transfer a grant to another such institution, it is essential that you notify the Office of Research Services, Research Grants Officer as soon as possible, for advice on how to proceed.

    Please note that all transfers must be approved by the Director of Research Services.

    University internal grants cannot be transferred. If you leave the University while holding an internal grant, the award must be relinquished and any unspent funds returned.

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