Award & Initiation Process

Principal Investigator (PI) / Operations Team (Accounts Assistants)
Stage 1: Setting up an award
Make sure the Operations team have all the information needed to enable them to set up your project.
  • What information do they need?
/ Assign a unique 5 digit project number and set up project details on the finance system
Issue PI with project number and account codes.
Stage 2: Spending the Money / Start of award
If members of staff are being fundedby your project, the posts should be filled following the standard personnel procedures for staff appointments. You will find the relevant guidance and forms on the Human Resources website:

If it is a new post, you should complete the "Proposal form for a new or replacement post".
If existing staff are being funded, you should complete an "Employment details change Form" (to ensure that the relevant salary is charged to the project and not the department).
You need to complete the form, get authorisation from your HoD, and send it to the REO at least 2 weeks before you would like the staff member to start work on your project. The Operations team will double-check that there are funds available to support the proposed post. If all is in order, they will pass the form on to Human Resources, who will then contact you to discuss recruitment for a new post (e.g. advertising, interviewing) or will organise a letter to extend the contract of the existing member of staff.
For new posts that last less than 6 months, you do not have to advertise the post and can go ahead and appoint someone immediately. However, longer posts will have to go through the normal recruitment process. / Confirm to Human Resources that sufficient funds have been awarded to finance the post.
  • When does my award become active?
/ Complete starting certificate if applicable. (e.g. Research Councils)
Organise for funds to be paid back to the department for any staff working on the project who are not directly allocated to the grant. (This will often be the case there is teaching buy out or technicians/ secretarial time costed to the project).
How do I get access to my share of the overheads? / Charge overheads to the project and return the associated income to the department.
Inform Research Accounts of any changes to the award e.g. extensions to the end date, and obtain written confirmation from the funder. / Formally accept any changes to the project on behalf of the University and amend the finance system accordingly.
Ensure that expenditure on the account takes place within the specified time of the award, is in line with any specific terms and conditions set by the funding body and remains within budget (using monthly reports from Operations team and guidance notes on how to read the reports).
If you are finding the report difficult to interpret, please contact the Operations teamand we will be pleased to sit down with you (on a one-to-one-basis) and go through it.
  • What are the terms and conditions of my award?
  • How do I spend against the project?
  • Can I order goods before the actual start date of the grant or after the end date?
  • Can I extend the duration of my research grant?
  • Can I transfer money between funding headings (“vire”)?
  • How will my grant work if funded in a foreign currency?
/ Send out a monthly statement of account to enable PI to monitor expenditure on the project.
Stage 3: Claiming the money
Complete billing milestones e.g. interim or final reports.
  • How does the University receive the award money?
/ Obtaining payment from the funding body.
Stage 4: Final reports and accounts
Complete technical reporting requirements.
  • Can I apply for a final report extension?
/ Complete financial reporting requirements
  • What happens if there is an over or under spend on the project?
/ Close the project on the finance system once the funding body has paid the last instalment and the balance is nil.
  • Isn’t the likelihood of receiving an audit from the funding body so small that we shouldn’t worry too much?
/ Deal with auditors and maintain files to satisfy audit arrangements.

If you receive a Supplementary (additional) Award to an existing project, the standard procedures for setting up a new research project need to be followed. Please contact the Business Development Teamin the first instance.

If you are wish to transfer a research project to another university from the University of Stirling (as result of a change in employment), or vice versa, please contact the Accounts Team as soon as you accept a contract of employment at the University of Stirling/ tender your resignation. Generally an award can be transferred as long as the University of Stirling, your new or previous institution, and the funding body all agree to the transfer.