JISC

JISC provides a budget template for financial reporting, from project proposal through to the reconciliation of the final budget at the end of the project. The template consists of a 'budget overview' spreadsheet and a 'budget reporting' spreadsheet.  There is also a 'user guidance' tab.  Projects must complete the white cells only, the remainder of the template will autocomplete and autopopulate. 

Explanation of terms

All applications from UK HE institutions for development funding from JISC should be costed on the basis of full economic costs (fEC). fEC is the total cost of a project. All applications should be costed on financial year April-March and NOT August-July.

Directly incurred

These are costs that are explicitly identifiable as part of the project, are charged at cash value actually spent and can be supported by an audit record.

• Staff Payroll costs requested for staff, full- or part-time, who will work on the project and whose time can be supported by a full audit trail during the life of the project.
• Travel and expenses Funds for travel and subsistence for use by staff who work on the project where these are required by the nature of the work. This should include attendance at programme meetings (two per year) and other relevant meetings dependent upon the project/programme.
• Equipment The cost of individual items of hardware or software dedicated to the project, including VAT, e.g. a computer for a newly recruited member of staff for the project.
• Dissemination The cost of any dissemination activities proposed for the project.
• Evaluation The cost of any formative or summative evaluation activities proposed for the project.
• Other costs Costs of other items dedicated to the project, including consumables, recruitment and advertising costs for staff directly employed on the project.

Directly allocated

These are the costs of resources used by a project, which are shared by other activities. They are charged to projects on the basis of estimates rather than actual costs and do not represent actual costs on a project-by-project basis.

• Staff Proposals will need to show the costs of any principal investigators/project directors and any co-investigators/co-directors if their time charged to the project is based on estimates rather than actual costs. This may also include the costs of technical and clerical staff, and if a project is buying a small amount of one or more of a person's time.
• Estates These costs may include building and premises costs, basic services and utilities, and any equipment maintenance or operational costs not already included under other cost headings.
• Other directly allocated These costs may include, for example, access to institutional research facilities such as equipment and IT systems.

Indirect costs

These include non-specific costs charged across all projects based on estimates that are not otherwise included as 'directly allocated' costs. They include the costs of administration, such as personnel, finance, library and some departmental services.

• Indexation
• Costings for subsequent years should factor in inflationary increases for salaries and other costs. All costings should be inclusive of any VAT applicable.
• Project partners
• Funding for project partners (e.g. staff time) should be clearly identified in the proposal under the relevant heading. Resources to be provided by project partners, whether cash or in-kind contributions, should also be clearly identified in the proposal.
• Justification of costs
• All costs associated with the project must be fully justified

In developing the budget, projects should consider the following:

• Allow travel expenses to attend programme meetings, cluster meetings (where relevant), and management committee meetings
• Include relevant headings under 'Other' as appropriate, e.g. consumables, software, licenses, small equipment
• List any capital items over £10k under 'Equipment' and less expensive items under 'Other'
• Allow for staff training
• Allow some contingency