Research Support at St Andrews
Finding a funder
Understanding the funder
Applying for funding
Negotiating the contract
Managing the award
Contacting the team
The Finance Department offers a ‘cradle to grave’ support service to academics in all aspects of research awards and contracts from pre-application (idea/finding funding and costing stage) to award (contract negotiation, project account setup, invoicing and financial reporting).
We provide costing and pricing advice for applications, tenders and University consultancy and administer the research grants and contracts once awarded.
Within the Finance Department there are two sections providing research support:
Research Business Development and Contracts (RBDC) &
Finance Advice and Support (FAS)
Research Business Development and Contracts (RBDC)
RBDC are a team of Business Development Managers (BDMs) and Contract Managers (CMs). The BDMs can assist you in finding funding for your research ideas, completion of your applications, and are your first point of contact for all research proposals to external funding bodies. In addition, RDBC have a dedicated BDM for European funding. BDMs also assist academics in pricing research contracts and consultancy.
Contract Managers lead on research contract negotiation with all funders on behalf of the University, in consultation with the academic community as appropriate. Our aim is to secure appropriate terms and conditions of award beneficial to all parties within the University which balance risk with intellectual benefit. Agreement types include Collaboration, Research Services, University Consultancy, Material Transfers and Non-Disclosure Agreements (for research). We work closely with Finance Advice and Support (FAS) to ensure a seamless and comprehensive research support service.
Finance Advice and Support (FAS)
Structured into School teams, Finance Advice and Support provide costings for all research applications and assistance with completing online submissions.
The University of St Andrews uses the full economic costing methodology to produce an estimate of the full cost of the project. The price of the application should be discussed with your Business Development Manager. This is especially important when dealing with industrial and overseas sponsors. Costing requests should be sent by e-mail to the relevant School email address (see Contacting the Team).
The administration and financial reporting of successful applications will be facilitated by FAS. FAS will provide advice and support on a wide range of issues including online reporting tools and are responsible for accounting for the income and expenditure on the University’s research activity, ensuring that the terms of funding are adhered to and that the expenditure is maximised within budgets.