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Managing Awarded Grants

Successful Applications

  • When you are informed you have been successful, forward any award letters and emails from the funder to the grants team post award email post-award@phc.ox.ac.uk.
  • The grants team will request RS initiate contract negotiations or acceptance of the award letter.
  • If the funder has approved the grant on condition of changes to the finances, the PI should liaise with the grants team who will amend the X5 costing.
  • When the contract is signed or the award is accepted the grants team will setup the project in oracle R12 to allow the PI to spend money against the grant. The grants team will forward a project code to the PI which will be needed when placing orders.
  • Contract negotiation for large complex contracts (like NIHR) can take several months. The grants team can usually setup a pre-award code to allow spending on the project to begin before the final signature has been completed.
  • When the main agreement has been signed the grants team will ask RS to begin the negotiations for any collaborators on the award.
  • Where Oxford is the collaborator we will need to wait until the lead has completed negotiations with the funder before our collaboration agreement will be initiated.
  • If the project name has changed since the application it's important to tell the grants team to make sure the award can be identified.

Ongoing Management of Awards

  • Each award is given a project code and task number in the format BZR01230 BZ00.01. This is used to identify the project in the financials system. It's also needed for making purchases and claiming expenses. 
  • Typically money cannot be kept after an award has ended. Some industry projects are an exception to this. Its important to have a plan to spend your budget before your awards ends.
  • The grants team will provide an updated budget monitoring sheet to PIs upon request. The budget monitoring sheet contains current financial information such as summary of budget items spent, current commitments and a staff forecast.
  • Each research group has a specific grants officer responsible for assisting with the financial management of the group's awards.
  • Some projects (e.g. EC/UKRI) require auditable backing for salary costs. Therefore timesheets should be kept for staff working on those projects. The grants officer will inform the PI which staff need to complete which timesheet template for the costs to be reimbursed.
  • Key Links and process guidance for spending award money:

Project amendments

  • To spend money on something not requested in the application (e.g. A post not mentioned in the application) it's important to check the award terms and conditions. Some funders won't allow this without asking first. The grants team may be able to advise. If the rules are unclear it may be necessary to contact the funder to confirm.
  • If a PI decides to request more money from a funder for a project they should contact the grants team. The grants team will create a supplement costing and help the PI work out exactly how much money to request for the extra work.
  • When a PI has requested a project extension and the funder has accepted, the confirmation email/letter should be sent to the grants team. The grants team will ensure the university systems are updated.
  • If a project requires a contract amendment due to a change, the draft from the funder should be sent to the grants teams who will check any details are as expected and inform research services. RS will engage the other party to complete the contract amendment.

Staff Changes and Recruitment

  • Recruiting a for new post or changing the FTE of a team member starts with the recruitment initiation request form which can be found on the HR intranet pages. Recruitment and Appointments — Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
  • It is essential to have a clear picture of the funding sources for the whole period of the appointment. Grants officers can assist with identifying which awards have enough available budget for recruitment.
  • Projects may have limitations on which posts can be recruited and some funders (e.g. BHF) will require you ask permission before paying for a new person from the project budget. If you are in any doubt please speak to the grants team.

Financial reports for funders

  • Where a funder requests financial information please forward this to the grants team.
  • Sometimes funders will request financia reports directly to research accounts in central finance. RA will forward these to the grants team to complete.
  • Many funders require a financial report at the end of an award. Some funders require annual reports while projects are running.
  • Financial reports are completed by the grants team and signed off by research accounts before being sent to the funder.