Process for Managing Equipment Applications and Awards

THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS

Faculty Research and Innovation Committees

Process for Managing Equipment Applications and Awards

Following the RCUK response to the Wakeham review in May 2011 guidelines were issued stating that universities must a) review existing equipment to ensure new investment is required b)provide match funding for applications to Research Council grants. Following clarification on Research Council procedures and the introduction of the EPSRC Strategic Equipment Process, internal processes have been refined. The paper summarises this process.

Process for applying for new equipment in excess of £10k on research and innovation grants

It is now a requirement to complete a review of existing university equipmentprior to submitting an application for new research equipment to any external funder. The purpose of the review is to ascertain whether the equipment requested already exists within our institution; it should also consider capacity and configuration issues.

To facilitate this assessment a classified equipment inventory has been developed containing details of equipment across the university with a value greater than £25k. The inventory can be found at: or the new N8 Shared Equipment Inventory System. Equipment champions should be contacted to discuss items less than £25k. A list of equipment champions can also be found on the RIS Equipment Pages.

The PI should review the inventory and consult with the nominated contacts as appropriate. If the outcome of the review establishes thatnew equipment is still required then they should complete the “Research equipment application – checklist” and forward it to the Faculty Research and Innovation Office (FRIO). The checklist can be found in Appendix 1.

Research Council applications for equipment with a value between £10k and the OJEU threshold

Research Councils have stated that universities are to provide 50% match-funding for items of equipment falling between £10k and the OJEU threshold. At the current time, the University has set aside funds to meet the 50% match-funding requirement; this could be subject to future review and any changes would be notified to Faculties.

Research Councils require written notification from the University agreeing to uphold the match funding should the equipment be awarded. This letter must accompany the research application in JeS.To obtain the letter the PI should forward the completed “Research equipment application – checklist” to the FRIO for review and to input into the application development. The FRIO will subsequently forward this to Research and Innovation Service (RIS). Upon receipt RIS will generate the match-funding letter and will forward it to the FRIO and Principal Investigator.

In addition the PI needs to include the following information in the Justification of Resources:

confirm that the equipment is not already available for use within the university or at any other accessible location (for instance by making reference to any asset registers consulted)
provide evidence that all other reasonable options have been considered
if the equipment requested will replace existing equipment, what will happen to this later
set out the full cost of the equipment and the university contribution

When processing the application through JeS the cost of the equipment should reflect the contribution sought from the Research Council. It should be included under the Equipment heading. The match-funding letter should be attached to the application.

Please note: Instrumental Development equipment is exempt; the above process is for a single item, it does not apply to an accumulation of items that exceed £10k.

Research Council applications for equipment with a value above the OJEU threshold (with the exception of EPSRC)

Research Councils generally require universities to provide some degree of match-funding for equipment above the OJEU threshold. There is an expectation that the university will contribute 50%, however the Research Councils dovary this on a grant by grant basis. It is therefore essential that all potential applicants contact Research Council staff prior to submitting their applications to ascertain the likely level of required contribution.

When applying for equipment over the OJEU threshold a business case outlining the strategic need for the equipment must be submitted as well as written notification from the University agreeing to uphold the match funding should the equipment be awarded. If more than one piece of equipment over the threshold is required then a business case must be completed for each one. The business case is in addition to the Justification of Resources.

The business case should be no more than 2 sides of A4 and the format can be foundin Appendix 2. Please note the full cost (including the University’s contribution) should be included in the business case.

The PI should complete and forward the “Research equipment application – checklist” and the University of Leeds business case to the Faculty Research and Innovation Office (FRIO) and Pro-Dean. When agreed both documents should be forwarded to RIS Research Facility and Infrastructure Manager who will liaise with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and the Finance Director to agree the level of match-funding. When agreed, RIS will generate the match-funding letter and forward to the FRIO and Principal Investigator.

When processing the application through JeS the equipment should be included under the equipment headingwithin the standard research proposal. The cost of the equipment should reflect the contribution sought from the Research Council.The business case and match-funding letter should be attached to the application.

EPSRC applications for equipment with a value above the OJEU threshold

EPSRC have introduced a Strategic Equipment Process for applications for equipment over the OJEU threshold. The application process now follows a two stage process. EPSRC have suggested that the PI contact the Theme contact as early as possible to discuss the process and potential options.

The item of equipment should be excluded from the associated research proposal however it should be referenced in the research proposal’s Justification of Resource.

Stage one

In the first instance a business case outlining the strategic need for the equipment must be submitted as well as written notification from the University agreeing to uphold the match-funding, should it be awarded.

The PI should complete and forward the “Research equipment application – checklist” and business case to the Faculty Research and Innovation Office (FRIO) and Pro-Dean. When agreed both documents should be forwarded to RIS Research Facility and Infrastructure Manager who will liaise with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and the Finance Director to agree the level of match funding. When agreed, RIS will generate the match-funding letter and forward to the FRIO and Principal Investigator.

The EPSRC business case and the match-funding letter should then be emailed to:

Stage two

Should the application be successful at stage one then the University will be invited to submit a full equipment proposal. The format can be found at:

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation (or nominee) will be invited to present the proposal to the EPSRC Equipment Panel.

The RIS Funding and Development team must be notified as soon as possible of all successful Stage 1 Applications. The Funding and Development team will support the Principal Investigator in developing the proposal prior to it being submitted to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor and the Finance Director for review.

The application for the equipment should be processed in JeS as an application in its own right. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation must be named as the PI and the location must be set to Research and Innovation Service. The approver will be a member of the RIS Funding and Development team and the Submitter will be theHead of Performance, Governance and Operations (or nominee).

ACCOUNTING NOTE FOR FACULTY RESEARCH AND INNOVATION OFFICES ONLY:

Post-award process for retrieving match-funding (except for EPSRC over the OJEU threshold)

The Research Council award letter will recordthe equipmentunder Exceptional Items. The value will reflect the amount they have agreed to contribute only.

When setting up the award in SAP the budget should berecorded against the Equipment heading to the value of the Research Council contribution. The cost sharing rule should be set to 100% External, 0% Internal to ensure no internal re-postings are generated.

The purchase order for the full cost should be raised against the research grant. When the purchase order has been goods receipted the FRIO should contact Management Accounting to arrange for the university match funding to be transferred to a new School Equipment Development (DV) account which will be set up specifically for this purpose. The match-funding should not be transferred to the research grant.

The FRIO will be responsible for transferring that part of the equipment cost which is to be met by the University to the development account by debiting the DV account and crediting the research grant using an expenditureGL code.

Post-award process for EPSRC equipment above the OJEU threshold

EPSRC has stipulated that the University must have a single Strategic Equipment Account for all equipment it awards to the institution above the OJEU threshold. This account is to be held centrally and EPSRC will allocate all new equipment awards directlyto this account. RIS will be responsible for the management of the account and for transferring funds from it to the School.

A separate research grant should be set up for each item of equipment. It should not be amalgamated with any associated research proposal.

The budget should be set up against the Equipment heading to the value the Research Council contribution only. The cost sharing rule should be set to 100% External, 0% Internal to ensure no internal re-postings are generated.

The purchase order for the full cost of the equipment should be raised on the research grant. When the purchase order has been goods receipted the FRIO should contact Management Accounting to arrange for expenditure to be credited from the University match-funding account to the School Equipment Development (DV) account and RIS for funding to be transferred from the EPSRC Strategic Equipment account to the relevant School RG Equipment account.

The FRIO will be responsible for transferring that part of the equipment cost which is to be met by the University to the Development Account by debiting the DV account and crediting the research grant using an expenditure GL code.

Appendix 1

Research equipment applications – checklist

It is now a requirement to complete an assessment of existing university equipment prior to submitting an application to an external funder. The assessment is to ascertain if the university already owns the equipment and if so that it either cannot be configured or does not have the capacity to be used for the proposed activity. The assessment should be carried out for single items over £10k.

A database has been developed containing details of equipment across the university with a value greater than £25k. The database can be found at: or the new N8 Shared Equipment Inventory System. It is recommended that the N8 system is used for simple checks to see whether appropriate equipment already exists within the University, or across the N8 for high value items. Equipment Mangers should be contacted to discuss items less than £25k and Faculty Equipment Leads should be contacted for approval of items over £25k. A list of equipment champions can be foundon the RIS Equipment Pages.

In addition, Research Councils have stipulated that the University must contribute up to 50% of the cost for each item. The Research Council require written notification from the University agreeing to uphold the match-funding should the equipment be awarded. This letter must accompany the research application in JeS. In order to obtain this letter the below checklist must be completed and forwarded to your FRIO.

Further guidance relating to equipment and facilities can be found on the RIS equipment pages or by contacting Danielle Hankin, the Research Facilities and Infrastructure Manager.

PI Name
Funder
Application Title
Equipment Name
Total cost (incl. VAT)

For items under £25k have you checked, either via the database or your Equipment Manager, whether the University already owns equivalent equipment? (please delete as appropriate)

YES / NO / Date of check:

For items over £25k have you discussed your requirements with your Faculty Equipment Lead? (please delete as appropriate)

YES / NO / Date of check:

Which of the following was the outcome of the check (please tick):-

The University does not own equivalent equipment
The University does own equivalent equipment but it does not have sufficient available capacity
The University does own equivalent equipment but it cannot be appropriately configured
Other (please explain):

Additional Questions: -

Have you liaised with your Facilities Manager to identify any works that may be needed to house the equipment and sought agreement as to who will bear the cost of this?
Have you taken into account the maintenance and decommissioning costs of the equipment and sought agreement as to who will bear the cost of this?
Have you investigated the use of outsourcing the proposed analysis/work to ensure that purchasing the equipment is the most cost effective option?
What percentage of match funding are you requesting?
How have you arrived at this figure? (e.g. RCUK requirements are 50%)

Appendix 2

RESEARCH COUNCIL UK

BUSINESS CASE FOR EQUIPMENT MATCH-FUNDING

Item: Name and specific model (if relevant) of the item of equipment
Vendor: If a preferred vendor is known, this should be stated along with the reasons why. In any case, the mechanism that will be used to identify the preferred supplier should be articulated.
Description: A brief description of the equipment should be included and how it will fit in with any existing capacity at the institution.
Cost: This should include only one item of strategic equipment (i.e. costing the OJEU threshold or more). Items of equipment that are intrinsically associated with the strategic equipment may also be requested. Funding for maintenance of the equipment or for implementing or managing any sharing mechanisms can also be requested.
Please set out the expected cost of the item(s) of equipment in pounds sterling (inclusive of VAT) and list any associated maintenance or support costs.
It would also be helpful to EPSRC if you are able to describe the timescales associated with procurement of the equipment and when you anticipate you will spend any capital provision made.
Usage: Please describe how the item of equipment will be used to meet the objectives of the proposed research project(s). Indicate the proportion of equipment time that will be available for use outside of the group managing the equipment and how the additional users of the equipment will be identified and prioritised. Information should be provided on the anticipated numbers of researchers that will be able to use the item of equipment, in which research areas they will be working, and where they will be based. If there are particular key groups or shared facilities in your research area, you should describe how you plan to interact and/or collaborate with them.
Note that it is acceptable for the equipment to be used entirely by one research group. EPSRC are looking to maximise the usage of equipment not necessarily share it as widely as possible. For all proposals, the quality of the science that will be carried out by the proposed users will be a key criterion in the assessment process.
Support: Please indicate how the item of equipment will be supported and maintained for the duration of any current or proposed research funding and how it will be maintained beyond the lifetime of this research funding.
Strategic Case: Please indicate how the requested item of equipment fits to the strategy of your department and institution and indicate how the purchase of this item of equipment will compliment or enhance regional and/or national research capability.
Ensuring Maximum Value: Explain how the requested equipment will fit with other items of equipment, infrastructure and people support already at your university.
Contribution from Other Sources: Please describe here what contributions to the cost, running or maintenance of the item of equipment will be found from other sources, external to those sought from this grant.
Alternatives: In the case that the proposal for equipment is not supported, describe the alternatives that could be used to support the research programme.