How to Apply - Costs
Please note that AFI awards, as is the case for other NERC grants, are 'cash limited' in that costs omitted in error at the proposal stage cannot subsequently be recovered from NERC. It is therefore very important that all costs are included at the outset.
The normal costs for supporting a project within the existing infrastructure will be covered in the overall support costs for AFI and should not be included in the costings within the proposal. This includes living and accommodation costs whilst on board ship, at a research station or in the field, from the time of your arrival at Stanley southbound, until return to Stanley at the end of the field project. However, the cost of any modifications to a ship or aircraft must be included. If you will be working away from a field station, you should assume that you will provide everything needed to run and maintain your equipment, including the supply of portable power; the costs should reflect this.
The return costs for shipping equipment and materials into the field on BAS vessels and aircraft will not be charged directly. However, if airfreight costs are incurred, for example, then these will be charged directly to the consignor. The costs for transporting your equipment to the BAS packing agents within UK and for collecting it and/or samples from BAS at the end of the season will not be covered by BAS and should be included in your project budget.
The following specific costs are the responsibility of the Principal Investigator and should be included in the AFI Proposal. Neither BAS nor NERC is responsible for these costs if they are omitted:
- The costs of flights, to and from the Falkland Islands, for the science and technical personnel involved in a project [£3400 return in 2008] should be costed into the Proposal. The travel costs for Field Assistants supporting the project should not be included. The costs for travel to and from Brize Norton to connect with the airbridge should be included within your application. (N.B. for CGS awards: these costs, based on standard class rail-fare, may be claimed.) If additional time is requested in the Falkland Islands, then the additional costs are the responsibility of the person(s) concerned and may not be charged to the AFI award.
- The costs for specialist 'clothing' such as diving suits may be costed into the proposal, up to a maximum of £350. Diving suits can be supplied by the Principal Investigator - but will need to be examined for their suitability. Ancillary diving equipment, e.g. cylinders and demand valves, will be provided by BAS as part of the Logistic overheads.
- The costs of Medical examinations for non-BAS personnel, up to £120 per person, should be included in the Proposal. BAS Medical advisers suggest that the costs of a full Antarctic Medical examination conducted to BAS specifications and performed by a GP should be in the region of £50-60. A Diving Medical will start at around £65, dependent on circumstances. In this case, the Diving Medical will replace the Full Medical and not be an additional charge. No allowance is included for the standard dental check.
- The costs of transportation of equipment/cargo to the BAS commercial stores prior to shipment to Antarctica, and for the collection of cargo and/or samples from BAS Cambridge following the field season, should be included in the bid.
- The costs of the Antarctic Briefing Conference and (if appropriate) Field Training course will be borne by BAS, but the cost of travel to and from Girton College, Cambridge, at the beginning and end of the course, should be costed into your application. In the case of CGS awards, these costs, based on standard class rail-fare, may also be claimed.
- The costs of specialist safety training should be included, where this cannot be provided on the BAS course, including SCUBA training, up to a maximum level of £500.
- The costs to obtain the STCW '95 certificate in Personal Survival, estimated at £120 per person (plus travel costs) should be included for personnel who do not already hold this certificate but will be engaged in working on deck during a marine cruise.
- The costs (including VAT) for the provision of Antarctic clothing for non-BAS personnel should be included according to the following table:
| Location | Cost (£) |
|---|---|
| Short Visit | 618 |
| Ship-borne (RRS James Clark Ross) | 715 |
| Ship-borne (RRS Ernest Shackleton) | 867 |
| Rothera station | 827 |
| Rothera field | 1,283 |
| Bird Island / Signy | 743 |
These costs (taken from Table 16B of the BAS Business Plan 2008) are based on the requirement that all issued items remain the property of BAS at the end of the field project. Together with airbridge charges, the costs of provision of polar clothing will be 'top-sliced' from your award, by NERC.
- For geologists - your budget should include a contribution towards the cost of consumable items. Geologists may wish to provide their own field equipment. Alternatively, BAS has a supply of basic items that may be used:
Durable items: BAS will not normally charge AFI personnel for the use of basic durable items such as hammers, chisels and binoculars. However, charges may be made if large quantities of equipment are requested. BAS will charge for loss or damage to durable items.
Consumable items: Full cost will be charged for consumable items such as notebooks, pens, camera film and rock-collecting boxes. Participants should budget for charges in the region of £100 per geologist, for consumable items. - If your proposal includes a CASE studentship, with BAS as the partner, your proposal should not include the CASE partner's contribution of £1500 per annum. Prior agreement needs to be obtained from BAS that it is willing to act as a CASE partner and to fund the associated costs.
- The costs of any additional expenditure attributable to a project and incurred during fieldwork should also be included in your proposal.
- Antarctic allowances for BAS staff conducting scientific or technical support work as part of the project should be costed pro rata in the budget. Salaries for staff who will be recruited and employed by BAS should be budgeted for at the rates published in the BAS Business Plan 2008 (Table 16A), at the appropriate Band. Note that the column to be used for this purpose from Table 16A is the penultimate one, labelled Full Economic Cost.
- Recruitment: Please ensure that, at the outset, each partner is clearly aware of which Institution will be responsible for recruitment. This will normally be the institution of the Principal Investigator, unless the award is split. BAS will not be responsible for recruiting, unless this has been specifically agreed with the BAS Co-Investigator - and will only happen in the case of BAS-led Awards or split Awards involving BAS. Any costs associated with recruitment, including advertising, must be included in the proposal. The recruitment of tied or CASE students will be the responsibility of an Institution that is a degree-awarding body.
- Costs of BAS Technical Services and support: The costs for support by any specific BAS technical or scientific personnel in the UK or in Antarctica should be charged according to the BAS Business Plan 2008 (Table 16A). This level of support must have been agreed in principle with the appropriate contact point given in the Logistics Questionnaire.
- Newly-awarded Principal Investigators should arrange to visit BAS Operations staff, to discuss their support requirements for the proposed fieldwork. This is intended to ensure that BAS staff who will be supporting the project in the field are well briefed, at an early stage, with detailed logistics information about the project requirements. Normally, a visit by the Principal Investigator - or delegated representative - should be sufficient. However, for relatively complex projects, involving several partner institutions, the Principal Investigator may wish to be accompanied by one or more representatives from the partner institutions. The costs of travel (standard class rail fare) to BAS Cambridge for this purpose should be included in your proposal.
NERC rules relating to the eligibility of individuals as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator are given in the Summary of eligibility conditions posted at http://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/available/researchgrants/eligibility.asp. Further details are available in the current version of the NERC Research Grants Handbook. See: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/application/researchgrants/grantshandbook.pdf
A Post Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) who is not eligible to be a Principal or Co-Investigator, but has made a substantial contribution to the formulation and development of the application and will be closely involved with the project (if funded) may be identified as a 'Researcher Co-Investigator'. A Researcher Co-Investigator must:
- Be the named researcher on the project and seek his/her salary as a Directly Incurred cost.
- Be employed by the same Research Organisation as the either the Principal or one of the Co-Investigators.
- If applying from a NERC or BBSRC Research Organisation, be employed at Band 6 or higher.
All applications for funding must be made using the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system, and must comply with the conditions set out in the NERC Research Grants Handbook - Research Grants Awarded on Full Economic Cost Basis (Edition 2008 - 1.1, March 2008).
Full Economic Costing (fEC)
Since 1st September 2005, NERC research grants have been awarded on the basis of a proportion of the full economic cost, calculated in accordance with the TRAC (Transparent Approach to Costing) methodology (Universities and other Higher Educations Institutes), or by an equivalent methodology in the case of Research Council component bodies or other academic analogues. The proportion of fEC awarded is currently 80%, with the expectation that this will increase to approach 100% by 2010.
The fEC of a project is calculated as the sum of three separate components, namely: Directly Incurred Costs, Directly Allocated Costs and Indirect Costs. Note that the term 'overheads' is no longer used by the UK Research Councils, although many other funding bodies still use it.
Directly Incurred Costs - these include the salaries of additional staff employed specifically for the project; also the costs of equipment, travel and subsistence, and consumables used by the project.
Directly Allocated Costs - these consist of:
(a) payments for Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator staff time (on a pro rata basis);
(b) costs of using major items of equipment or facilities.
BAS staff cost rates, set according to the salary band of the individual, are given in the penultimate column of the BAS Business Plan 2008.
Indirect Costs - Indirect costs are intended to be a contribution towards the project costs incurred by the institution which is in receipt of the Award. These costs are determined by the respective Finance department as a single figure applied per full-time equivalent post involved in the project.
Exceptions - The Research Councils will pay 100% of the cost for certain items of expenditure, including research student stipends, tuition fees and capital equipment valued at >£50k.
