Transcript Example for Presentation

Practical issues of fEC
John Newton
National Co-ordinator for Costing
and Pricing, JCPSG
Background
•Government expectations/commitment
•JCPSG, TRAC and its strategy
•Additional support for Research Councils
•Cost-based pricing based on TRAC
•Market-based pricing
•Sustainability
fEC
•Full economic costs based on TRAC – definitions of
activities, data, validation, testing, internal audit
•Definition of fEC
•Cost models and rates vary between institutions
•QA process – Cardiff has robust processes now but….
•Rates calculated for Estates and Indirect costs – generic and
lab-based departments
•Breakdown of costs:
Directly Incurred (DI)
Directly Allocated (DA)
Indirect
Exceptions
Directly Incurred (DI) costs
DI costs are:
•explicitly identifiable as arising from the conduct of the
research;
•are charged on the basis of the cash spent; and
•are verifiable and auditable from accounting records
Types include:
•Staff specific to a project – underpinned by an auditable
record (e.g. Technicians, RAs, consumables, travel,
equipment)
•Facility usage –if usage/project and auditable costs charged
on the basis
Directly Incurred (DI) costs
Issues
•Names of staff
•RAs and RFs wholly working on the project and all salary
costs charged to the project treated differently to those
working on a variety of projects
•Hours in total over project
•Cannot use pay bandings. Use actuals.
•Use of equipment funded by Research Councils/double
Counting
•How are estimates derived? Note later justification for audit.
•Recording of costs as expenditure made
•Indexation
Directly Allocated (DA) costs
DA costs are:
•shared costs based on estimates; and
•do not represent actual costs on a project-by-project basis
Types include:
•Departmental technical and administrative service staff
•Costs to projects, based on a charge-out rate related to
estimated costs
Directly Allocated (DA) costs
Issues
PIs/Co-investigators – change from current procedure
•Costs of staff that work on several projects are generally
directly allocated
•Names
•Hours (based on estimates – no timesheets)
•Charged on the basis of standard charge-out rates and
estimated time
•Lab technicians to be directly allocated by 1 August 2007
•Research Councils will not fund PIs more than 1650
hours/year – 100% of salary
•Costs of major research facilities to be directly allocated by 1
August 2007
•Reconciliation between actual and estimated hours
•Agreed estimated costs paid – no more, no less
•Pay bandings – TRAC
•Peer reviewers see all costs but not basis
•Estates – FTE based on research staff on project or sq m
•Indexation
Estimating academic staff time/project (1)
General
•Pay bandings/actual salary costs
•1650 hours
•Hours conversion to FTEs
•Confirmation of time estimates annually or as
required
•Do not include time spent training or supervising
project or tied studentships on project but record
separately.
•Determine total hours for project
Estimating academic staff time/project (2)
Points to consider
•Whether PI or Co-investigator
•How many on project
•Experience of RAs
•General experience/aptitude
•No. of partners
•Type of equipment
•No. of papers o be written
•Sponsor requirements
•Can include writing up time
•Do not include dissemination
Methods
•Zero-based
•TRAC data
•Time/RA – weighting as appropriate
•Standards of department
•Experience of older researchers
•Peer discussion
Indirect costs
•Cost driver model
•Consists of:
- the Support time of academics
- clerical and administrative staff in
- academic departments (exc. DI/DA costs)
- non-staff costs in academic departments
- central services
- estates costs of central service departments
- COCE
•FTE calculation – TRAC Time Allocation Schedules/PGR
weightings
•The total indirect costs for Research/total FTES for Research
provides the indirect cost rate/FTE for Research
•Annual calculation, using historical data
Exceptions
Include:
•100% fEC of equipment over K£50 threshold (total)
•100% of project studentship stipends and tuition fees (where
applicable to project). Do not include as part of FTEs
•Note indexation
General
•Charge-out rates to be determined by Finance but in liaison
with all other relevant staff
•Costs used to establish the indirect cost, estates cost and all
other charge-out rates are reconciled to the financial
statements plus the two cost adjustments
•Rates can be revised for cost purposes but additional costs
will not be paid
•No double-charging
•Terms and conditions for Research Council grants published
in March 2005 - see
http://www.pparc.ac.uk/jes/TCfECFinal.pdf
•Peer Review and fEC. See
http://www.pparc.ac.uk/jes/DSR_PeerReviewFAQv1.0.pdf