Strategic Insight Programme 2012/13

Placements to be completed by-28th June 2013

Last applications by -30th April 2013

  • Open to full time university staff (not hourly paid)
  • Open to all organisations – Public / Private / Not for Profit

Classic20-50 hours@ £50/hour up to £2500 (inclusive of expenses)

University staff member placed at company location

Reverse20-40 hours @ £50/hour up to £2000 (inclusive of vat and expenses)

Company staff member placed at university location

  • Costing - Usually the best strategy is to just claim the maximum hoursrather than reducing hours to accommodateexpenses; this maximises the funding and avoids expenses having to be submitted to SIP. The University can cover expenses as normal and pay out of funds received (make sure that you agree this with your college).
  • Payments - Willbe made atthe end of the placement following approval of satisfactory outcomes and submission of a final report.
  • Classic - expect 3 weeks to invoice SIP and then payment can go into a nominated department D code via an internal recharge. This can be any D code agreed with your Department. It does not have to be used to ‘buy out’ staff time.
  • Reverse – The company / organisation invoice the universitydirectly along with a final report. The invoice will be paid once the report is approved by SIP programme. Expect 3-4 weeks for claims to go through the university payment system.

Objectives

  • Placements aredesigned to fund the release of staff to spend quality time with the external organisation to develop:
  • A relationship (or a new part to an existing one)
  • New understanding of each other’s organisation
  • Real opportunities for future collaborative activity (this is the key point)
  • Placements must have clear strategic benefits to a person or department or the university.
  • Placements can not fund research/consultancy activity during the placement – this would be considered funded consultancy. Placements can only develop relationships/understanding and scope opportunities for future projects/activity. For example: identify future projects, work up a funding bid, etc.

Applications

  • The application form is simple and light touch. Three pages of A4 with short clear bullet points are required to show strategic benefit and potential future collaborations.

Outputs

  • Outputs of the Placement are expected to be agreement on a list of future possible collaborative activities and timescales to take these forwards. (It is known that excepted benefits and future activities can not always be guaranteed).

Examples of anticipated collaboration resulting from placements – KTP, joint projects, student placements(e.g. GOWALES), student projects,funded MSc/PhD, joint research, consultancy, commercial opportunities, employer engagement in curriculum development, organisations presenting to students (guest lecturers), collaborating on external facing events (conference presentation/papers), etc

This list is by no means exhaustive and placements could touch some elements of these and also many other collaboration opportunities

While valuable, placements are not expected to just have student placements as the main output at the end of a SIP.

  • These would usually be evidenced via a very short summary scoping report of the opportunities.
  • Placements are intended to deliver follow on collaboration/activities. Some of these, not all, will bring in new external income into the University. E.g. project funding, student placement funding (e.g. GOWales), funded MSc or PhD’s, knowledge transfer partnerships (KTP), consultancy, etc. About 6 to 18 months after the placement you will be asked to identify any funded activity that has followed on from the placement to help evidence the success of the programme.
  • A Final report is due without fail 2 weeks after end of placement accompanied by a signed time sheet. (3-4 pages, bullet points, achievements and future actions).

FAQ for SIP Partners

(Click links to view)

Eligibility

I’m not an academic. Can I apply for a SIP?

I have already done a SIP, can I do another one?

What are the specific exclusions for SIP?

What conflicts of interest should we be aware of?

Application

How long will it take for the applications to be approved?

How long will it take for completion documents to be approved?

How detailed should the objectives and placement activity be?

What’s the best way to assess the applications?

Under what grounds would a SIP be cancelled?

Can more than one staff member be involved in the same SIP placement?

Help I deleted the email with all the documentation required for completion what do I do?

The SIP application has been approved, when can the placement commence?

Finances

How do the Finances for a Classic SIP work?

How do the finances for a Reverse SIP work?

Will expenses be paid during the SIP placement itself?

When should the Reverse SIP partner receive their payment?

How does the payment system work?

If a SIP is cancelled can expenses be reimbursed?

Eligibility

  1. I’m not an academic. Can I apply for a SIP?

Any staff member employed by the University in a full or part time capacity on a permanent or short term contract is eligible to apply.

It’s not only academic staffs that are able to engage with business, in the past people from departments such as Student Services, IT, HR and the Library have undertaken SIP placements. If you are employed on a casual basis then you are NOT eligible.

  1. I have already done a SIP, can I do another one?

It depends on the type of SIP you’ve already completed. For example, if you completed a Classic SIP the first time and would like to do a Reverse SIP this time then YES. If you want to do the same type of SIP placement again then unfortunately the answer is NO.

Previous SIP engagement is more for the Institutions that participated in Phase 1&2 and Phase 3 of the original Strategic Insight Programme. If your application is suitable then a Reverse SIP application will be considered on its merits.

If you have done one of each then you need to show that your proposal is highly strategic to the University, that you are the only person within your University with the skills and expertise to undertake the SIP and that the potential future benefits to the University strongly suggest that the Eligibility criteria of not having completed a SIP before be waived in this instance.

  1. What are the specific exclusions for SIP?

In order to participate in a SIP a staff member must be employed on either a full time or part time basis by the University. This means that hourly paid lecturers, PhD students, Post Graduate students, Undergraduate students and casually employed staff are ineligible to participate in the SIP.

A SIP cannot be undertaken with a Further Education institution nor are Further Education institution staff eligible to undertake a SIP.

A SIP application will only be considered if the activity with an existing partner company is new activity, e.g. if a different faculty begins to engage with the company in a different area to the previously existing relationship.

SIP applications that are consultancy in disguise are not eligible for funding.

  1. What conflicts of interest should we be aware of?

If a staff member is a Director, Owner or a major share holder of a company then this represents a conflict of interest and a more suitable member of staff should be found from both the HEI and the company to undertake the SIP.

If the HEI staff and company staff proposed to be involved in the SIP are related to each other then this represents a conflict of interest and alternative staff should be found at either the HEI, company or both.

Application

  1. How long will it take for the applications to be approved?

Once the application is received by the Project Office we will endeavour to process the application within 5 working days. There may be a delay if all signatures are not included when the application is submitted for approval. If, for any reason, there will be an extended delay in approving the application, an email will be sent to the University SIP contact and the applicant informing them of the situation.

  1. How long will it take for completion documents to be approved?

Once the completion documentation is received by the Project Office we will endeavour to process and approve the documents within 10 working days. This timeline may be held up if all documents for completion are not included or if signatures or receipts are missing.

If there is going to be an extended delay in approving documentation, an email will be sent to the University SIP contact and the Applicant informing them of the situation. If the placement is for a Reverse SIP then the Partner contact will also be informed of any delays.

  1. How detailed should the objectives and placement activity be?

They need to be detailed enough to inform those reading the application what is intended to be done on the placement, but not so detailed that it brings into question whether the aims will be able to be completed within the specified timeframe or if the activity is more aligned to consultancy.

  1. What’s the best way to assess the applications?

Using the Guidance Notes and FAQ’s to measure the application against them is one of the best ways to assess an application. Combine this with determining if the objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Limited).

  1. Under what grounds would a SIP be cancelled?

If a SIP needs to be cancelled or is at risk of being cancelled let the Project Office know straight away. Occasionally, personnel at the Host/Partner organisation will change and the new contact won’t be interested in taking on the SIP as well as their new role. When this happens discuss with the University staff engaging with the Host/Partner and see if they can give suggest a way forward. Sometimes it’s possible to shorten a SIP rather than cancel. If a SIP fails to meet its objectives, it doesn’t need to be cancelled, not every SIP is going to be a success.

  1. Can more than one staff member be involved in the same SIP placement?

Technically, if a SIP requires more than one staff member from the University to be involved then there are grounds for 2 separate SIP’s to be undertaken. These SIP’s can be of shorter duration (e.g. 25 hours instead of 50) and must look at distinctly different aspects of working with the organisation. If this is not possible then discuss the options for the placement with the Project Office prior to an application being submitted for approval.

  1. Help I deleted the email with all the documentation required for completion what do I do?

Don’t Panic! The SIP Project Office or your SIP contact at your University will have another copy of the letter that was sent to you and the Host/Partner organisation. We will send back up copies of the letters, timesheets and completion documents to you via email.

  1. The SIP application has been approved, when can the placement commence?

The placement can commence as soon as the staff letter and Host letter are received back by the SIP contact at your University. Once this documentation is received you should have an email either from them or from the Project Office stating that you are able to start the placement. If you want to speed things up then scan the signed copy of the letters and email these to the SIP contact at your University and the Project Office.

Finances

  1. How do the Finances for a Classic SIP work?

The finances for the SIP are administered by the Project Office. Any monies allocated to a SIP will not be released from the Project Office until all documentation has been checked, verified by the SIP Administrator and approved by the SIP Manager. A Purchase Order will then be raised for a specific SIP, including expenses, and sent to the relevant PartnerUniversity. They will, in turn, invoice UGCS for the amount of the Purchase Order. The SIP Project Office will then check and authorise the invoice for payment which should reach the University within 28 working days.

  1. How do the finances for a Reverse SIP work?

All finances for SIP are administered and disbursed from the Project Office. For a Reverse SIP, when all completion documentation is received, a Purchase Order will be raised by the Project Office and sent to the relevant University. The University will then invoice UGCS for the amount in the Purchase Order and no more. The University can then use these monies to pay the Invoice submitted by the Partner company. A copy of this invoice needs to be sent to the Project Office. It is up to the University if they wish to pay the Partner Invoice on arrival or wait for the disbursement of monies from the Project Office. The partner/Host organisation can submit their invoice at any stage, however they will only be paid for the total hours/days recorded on their timesheet to a maximum of £2000 (including VAT) which may not match with their initial Invoice. If the Invoice does not match the timesheet then a revised invoice will need to be submitted.

  1. Will expenses be paid during the SIP placement itself?

This is up to the individual HEI to determine if they will pay staff expenses throughout the placement. The Project Office will NOT distribute any funds in relation to a SIP until all documentation has been submitted and approved for payment.

  1. When should the Reverse SIP partner receive their payment?

This is dependent on how each HEI processes their payment and Invoices. The Project Office will endeavour to pay invoices submitted within 28 working days. It is for the HEI to decide if they wish to pay the Reverse SIP company prior to the receipt of funds from the Project Office.

  1. How does the payment system work?

SIP is funded by HEFCW and the funding is administered by UGCS. Following approval and completion of a placement the Project Office will submit a request for a Purchase Order to be sent to the HEI at which the staff member undertaking the SIP works. Once the Purchase Order is received, the HEI should then invoice UGCS. UGCS will endeavour to pay each invoice within 28 working days. Once the HEI receives the funds for the SIP it is up to each HEI as to how they distribute the money via their internal systems.

  1. If a SIP is cancelled can expenses be reimbursed?

NO. However, if the Completion Report and timesheets are submitted, expenses and pro-rata staff costs may be able to be paid. If documents can be submitted and expenses substantiated against the timesheet and completion report then expenses can be paid. If a timesheet is not submitted then the placement will be considered cancelled rather than re-negotiated. We are only able to pay expenses if the SIP Project Office is aware of the situation prior to the events happening and if a Completion Report and timesheet are submitted.