All grants and fellowships – except pre-doctoral clinical research training fellowships – should be costed on the basis of the full economic costs (FEC) necessary to deliver the research. If a grant is awarded, the MRC will typically fund 80% of the FEC and the research organisations must agree to find the balance of FEC from other resources.
Some awards are made at different FEC rates, for example global health. Applicants should refer to the specific call guidance for further information.
Universities and other higher education institutions (HEIs) will use the transparent approach to costing (TRAC) methodology to calculate FEC.
Dispensation rates can be used by those research organisations who do not comply with TRAC. Read more about the funding assurance programme.