Guidance on Revised GT&Cs

This guidance note has been written to provide supplementary information in respect of certain aspects of the SFI General Terms and Conditions (published on September 12th 2017) (the “2017 GT&Cs”) to the research bodies.

  1. The 2017 GT&Cs cover all awards made after Sept 12th 2017 and will not be retrospectively applied to awards made before that date. An exception to this may be SFI Policy Documents and Government Circulars, where the current versions may apply and not those in existence when the awards were originally made. The relevant version will be as notified by SFI to the research body from time to time. The 2006 version of the SFI General Terms and Conditions (the “2006 GT&Cs”) will be made available on the SFI website for easy access by HEIs in respect of the awards which remain subject to the 2006 GT&Cs.
  1. SFI acknowledges that research bodies are working towards compliance with the various new and changed clauses in the 2017 GT&CS and that the research bodies are accepting the awards in the spirit of actively working towards the introduction of processes, policies, etc. within a reasonable period that will deliver full implementation of the 2017 GT&Cs.
  1. Specifically relating to clause 9.5 of the 2017 GT&Cs, SFI clarifies that this clause is written to reflect SFI’s current practices in respect of the audit of financial matters and procedures followed in the context of investigations conducted by research bodies into research misconduct.
  2. Specifically relating to clause 11.2 of the 2017 GT&Cs, SFI clarifies that this clause refers to the requirement for the research bodies to have policies and procedures in place, including training of staff, that underpin good research practice.
  3. Specifically relating to clause 11.3 of the 2017 GT&Cs, SFI clarifies that this clause refers to the requirement for the research bodies to ensure that each PI provides the required supervision/oversight of their award to give assurance regarding the research being conducted and that PIs have a strong awareness of what needs to happen when an incident of research misconduct is detected.
  4. Specifically relating to clause 15.2.c.iii of the 2017 GT&Cs, SFI clarifies that this clause is subject to the overriding requirement that the policies and levels of insurance to be maintained must be what any reasonable and prudent research body would maintain in similar circumstances and that the insurance to be maintained must be relevant in the context of each particular research programme.
  1. SFI commits to developing a guidance note that outlines SFI’s requirements for data sharing from industry partners and explains the limits of the data which is required to be shared and the rationale for collecting this data.