This guidance sets out the different roles on a project team when applying to a funding opportunity from UKRI or one of its research councils.
How to use this guidance
UKRI has two main services that you can use to apply for funding:
- UKRI Funding Service – used by the seven research councils
- Innovation Funding Service – for funding opportunities from Innovate UK
Follow this guidance if you are applying through the UKRI Funding Service to a research council funding opportunity.
To help you select roles for the members of your team, this guidance gives the:
- role name used in the UKRI Funding Service and a short description
- responsibilities of the role as part of a team applying for funding
There is other guidance to follow if you are applying:
Cost headings for roles
The ‘role costings’ section helps you understand which cost heading each role’s costs go under when completing an application.
Eligibility for roles
To know if you or a member of your team is eligible for a specific funding opportunity, you must check the criteria in the ‘who can apply’ section of the opportunity’s guidance.
Before you apply: discuss and agree with lead organisation
You must discuss your proposed project with the relevant people in the lead organisation before starting an application.
The lead organisation must agree to host the project and provide all the support required to deliver the project. This normally includes providing 20% of the total costs, in line with standard ‘full economic costing’ methodology. Any additional submitting organisations would also be required to cover the 20% full economic costs (FEC).
The lead organisation checks the application and confirms that the applicants are eligible to receive UKRI funding before submitting it to UKRI. The people responsible for this varies depending on the organisation.
You must share your application with your organisation with enough time to allow them to complete their checks and approvals before the closing date.
Relationship with eligible organisation
Project leads and co-leads must have a substantial relationship with an organisation eligible for UKRI funding. This organisation will support them if their application is successful.
Examples of a substantial relationship with an organisation include:
- emeritus status (that is, retired but still maintains their relationship with their department or the university)
- honorary appointment with the organisation
- contract with the submitting organisation, normally outlasting the duration of the project
If you do not yet work for the organisation who will hold the grant, you can still apply. However, you must first discuss with the potential organisation and get their support before you start your application.
Using roles in funding application services
UKRI Funding Service roles
When completing your application using the UKRI Funding Service, you are asked to:
- name people who will make key contributions to the work as ‘team members’
- give each member a ‘role’ in the project
Note, any unnamed role resource, such as a research and innovation associate role where an individual has not yet been selected, should be included and justified in the resources and costs section.
There are 12 types of roles:
- project lead (PL)
- project co-lead UK (PcL)
- project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
- researcher co-lead
- fellow
- grant manager
- research and innovation associate
- visiting researcher
- specialist
- technician
- doctoral student
- professional enabling staff
Each funding opportunity involves a specific set of these roles.
For example, a fellowship opportunity would offer ‘fellow’ as an available role but not ‘project lead’.
Roles: relationships with organisations
For all roles, except public contributors, such as people with lived experience, individuals must be based at the lead organisation or a collaborating organisation.
Collaborating organisations are those organisations where project co-leads are based. Core team members cannot be based at any other organisation.
Collaborating organisations must also be eligible to apply to the specific funding opportunity.
For any individuals based at a non-eligible organisation, they can participate as either a:
- project partner
- sub-contractor
- visiting researcher
Further information on which roles are available and the organisations eligible to apply is given in the funding opportunity’s guidance.
Project partners and subcontractors
In addition to the listed roles, you can also add ‘project partners’ or ‘subcontractors’ to applications in the UKRI Funding Service. Entitlement to the outputs of the project and Intellectual Property (IP) will be determined between the parties involved, however any access to project outputs and IP must be in line with any relevant Subsidy Control regulation.
Project partner
A project partner is a third party person who is not employed on the grant, or a third party organisation, who provides specific contributions either in cash or in kind, to the project. Project partners are expected to provide contributions to the delivery of the project and should not therefore be seeking to claim funds from UKRI. However, where there are specific circumstances where project partners do require funding for minor costs such as travel and subsistence, this will usually be paid at 80% FEC unless otherwise stated by us. Any applicable Subsidy Control regulation and HMRC guidance will also be taken into account which may affect the percentage of these costs that we will fund. These costs should be outlined and fully justified in the proposal and will be subject to peer review.
Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.
UKRI Head Office Staff acting in their capacity as a UKRI employee are not eligible to be project partners. Organisations that are applicants on the project, including non-lead applicant organisations, cannot also be a Project Partner.
Subcontactor
A subcontractor is one of the following:
- a third party individual who is not employed as staff on the grant
- a third party organisation, who is subcontracted by the host organisation to deliver a specific piece of work
This will be subject to the procurement rules of the host organisation. All costs that support the delivery of the subcontract are eligible and will be paid at 80% FEC unless otherwise stated. Costs should be outlined and fully justified in the proposal and will be subject to peer review. Subcontractors should not be added using any of the core team roles.
Dual roles
An organisation or individual can act as both a project partner and subcontractor, this must be fully justified and will be subject to peer review.
This enables the organisation or individual to receive recognition as a project partner for the elements of their contribution which they wouldn’t get if they were included only as a subcontractor. We would expect project partner related costs to be minor. Where the project needs work to be undertaken that is more significant and includes costs other than travel and subsistence, then the organisation or individual to be contracted may need to be included as both a project partner and a subcontractor.
An example is when an organisation or individual is giving to the project in kind but are also selected to deliver other work to the project involving non-minor costs to be covered via a subcontract.
Business-based applicants
Some funding opportunities allow for people based in businesses to be project leads or co-leads. This is stated in the ‘who can apply’ section of the funding opportunity’s guidance.
If this is allowed, you should take the Subsidy Control Act 2022 into consideration when applying.
Role descriptions and responsibilities
These are the roles used in the UKRI Funding Service.
Applicants must inform anyone who will have one of these roles in their application that their information will be passed to UKRI as part of the application process.
Project lead
The project lead is responsible for the intellectual leadership and overall management of the project. They are the main contact for UKRI.
Usually, your application should only include one project lead. Check the funding opportunity to see if more than one project lead is allowed.
To be the project lead you must be affiliated with the ‘lead organisation’ on the application.
Students are occasionally eligible to apply for funding as a project lead. This will be explicitly stated in the ‘who can apply’ section of the funding opportunity. If the opportunity guidance does not specifically say that students can apply, then they are not eligible.
For training grant opportunities, the ‘project’ refers to the training grant as a whole, irrespective of how many students are associated with it or how broad the remit of the training grant is. For training grants the project lead can often be a ‘director’ or ‘training grant holder’.
Support from the lead organisation or collaborating organisations
The lead organisation and any collaborating research organisation should have agreed to provide all necessary support for the proposed project if it is successful.
The project lead should have an explicit agreement with the organisation that this will last for at least the duration of UKRI funding.
By submitting an application, an organisation is confirming that named applicants are capable of taking part in a UKRI-funded project and will accept its relevant terms and conditions.
Project co-lead
A project co-lead UK is a member of the project leadership and management team. They may take over the leadership of the project, if required, however this is not an essential requirement. Your team can have as many project co-leads as needed.
To be a project co-lead you must be affiliated with one of the research organisations involved in submitting the application.
Project co-lead (international)
This role is available when a funding opportunity is open to individuals based at an international research organisation.
A project co-lead (international) is a member of the project leadership and management team. You cannot take over the leadership of a project as you do not meet the residency criteria for a project lead.
Your team can have as many project co-leads (international) as needed.
For more information on the eligibility of a project co-lead (international), check the UKRI project co-lead (international) policy.
Researcher co-lead
A research and innovation associate who is not eligible to be a project lead or project co-lead, but has made a substantial contribution to the formulation and development of the application and will be closely involved with the project.
To be a researcher co-lead you must be employed by the project lead or project co-lead’s research organisation.
Fellow
A fellow is awarded a personal fellowship grant to undertake a project. You are responsible for the intellectual leadership of the project and its overall management.
Grant manager
A grant manager:
- leads the administration and delivery of a project, usually a training grant rather than a research grant but could also be relevant for larger, collaborative awards
- must be employed by the lead organisation or one of the collaborating organisations
A funding opportunity normally allows either one ‘grant manager’ or one ‘project lead’ to be used in the application.
However, specific funding opportunities may allow both roles because the size or complexity of the project needs dedicated high-level management and organisational support. In this case, the grant manager should be a specific role in the application with justified tasks. For example:
- Professional Research and Investment Strategy Manager (PRISM)
- centre manager
- project manager
Research and innovation associate
A research and innovation associate:
- carries out research or innovation work on a project
- must be employed by the lead organisation or one of the collaborating organisations
Visiting researcher
A visiting researcher:
- is not employed by the lead organisation or any of the collaborating organisation
- carries out research or innovation work (or both) on the project for a limited period of time
- is not for those undertaking work which would constitute a service or consultancy
Specialist
A specialist is an individual who brings specialist skills and intellectual input to the project, for example:
- data scientist or research software engineer
- graphic designer or survey specialist
- high-level or specialist technician or librarian
- public engagement or knowledge exchange specialist
- clinical trial coordinator
- public contributors such as people with lived experience
To be a specialist on a project, you must be employed by the lead organisation or one of the collaborating organisations, except if a public contributor.
Where a public contributor is being added as a specialist they should be added to the application with the organisation name ‘PPIE Specialist’.
Technician
A technician:
- provides general technical support to the project as required
- could be employed on a project as both a specialist and a technician, with the relevant percentage of time requested to a maximum of 100% according to the project requirements
- must be employed by the lead organisation or one of the collaborating organisations
To use this role in an application, you must be making a contribution specific to the project being applied for. Support provided to any project within the research organisation not specific to the application should be recovered separately through estate and indirect costs.
Doctoral student
A student studying for their doctorate who is funded by UKRI, usually through a UKRI training grant.
The ‘doctoral student’ role is for people carrying out research activities on the project as part of their doctorate studies.
Students can also be employed to carry out specific activities on a project. In these cases you should select another role type that aligns to your work on the project.
Professional enabling staff
Professional enabling staff:
- provide significant professional contributions to enable the project in areas such as finance, accounting and marketing
- must be employed by the lead organisation or one of the collaborating organisations
To use this role in an application, you must be making a contribution specific to the project being applied for. Support provided to any project within the research organisation not specific to the application should be recovered separately through estate and indirect costs.
After applying to a funding opportunity
Change in circumstances
If your circumstances change after submitting an application, you should discuss any changes with your lead organisation.
They will advise you whether the application can still go ahead or if it should be withdrawn.
Change of staff grant change requests
When you submit a ‘change of staff grant change request’ you can only select from the role types that were available at the time of your grant application.
Responsibilities if you are awarded funding
If you are awarded funding, you must:
- comply with UKRI terms and conditions
- carry out your project in line with the policies and process of the organisations involved
- participate in UKRI peer review in your area of expertise, if asked
Role costings
Cost headings to use for each role
This list shows:
- the cost headings that each role’s salary costs can be placed under in your application
- whether the role attracts ‘estates’ and ‘indirect’ costs, in addition to salary costs
Although some roles are now eligible to attract indirect and estates costs, applying for these costs remains at the discretion of the research organisation.
If the associated indirect and estates costs are applied for, research organisations should avoid double charging these roles by ensuring that:
- the ‘full time equivalent’ (FTE) of all roles ‘directly allocated’ or ‘directly incurred’ attracting indirect and estate costs on the award is included in the denominator of the research charge-out rates
- costs of all roles ‘directly allocated’ or ‘directly incurred’ are excluded from the numerator of the research charge-out rates
When costing roles to a project, you must also follow the guidance for the specific funding opportunity. This might include exceptions to the standard rules.
For example, some opportunities do not allow individuals from businesses or government who have a role on a grant to attract estates and indirect costs.
Where these roles are being utilised for training grant or other non-FEC opportunities, estates and indirect costs are not applicable.
Project lead
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
Project co-lead UK
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
Project co-lead (international)
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role does not attract estates and indirect costs, unless this is stated in the funding opportunity.
Researcher co-lead
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
Fellow
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
Grant manager
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
Research and innovation associate
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
Visiting researcher
Cost heading: Directly Incurred
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
Specialist
Cost heading: Directly Incurred, Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
Where the individual undertaking this role is a public contributor, such as people with lived experience, the role cannot attract estates and indirect costs. Eligible costs associated with the addition of an individual with this type of involvement in the project will be specified within the guidance for the specific funding opportunity.
Technician
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
‘Infrastructure technician’ is not directly requested as a role but is covered by the estates and indirect costs calculations.
Doctoral student
Cost heading: no heading used
Professional enabling staff
Cost heading: Directly Incurred or Directly Allocated
Role may attract estates and indirect costs, providing double charging requirements are met.
When to use each cost heading
Directly Allocated
The individual’s cost is based on estimated rather than actual amounts of time spent on the project.
During the project, they are either employed by, or treated as an employee by the lead or one of the collaborating organisations.
Directly Incurred
The individual’s cost to the project is based on actual rather than estimated amounts of time to be spent on the project, usually tracked throughout the project using timesheets.
They may already be employed by one of the organisations that will be involved during the course of the project if the application is successful. But they can also be contracted in after project funds have been awarded.
Exceptions
These are directly incurred roles, for which UKRI cover 100% of their eligible remuneration costs (as opposed to the usual 80%).
Exceptions are specific to each funding opportunity and therefore not included in the list here. You will need to check the opportunity guidance for any roles that can be treated as exceptions.
Estates and Indirect costs
Support staff time, such as infrastructure technician and non-specialist (underpinning) librarian support, must be funded by estates and indirect costs.
An individual can be added under a named role that attracts estates and indirect costs and can also separately undertake tasks which are covered by the estates and indirect costs for the project.
When charging costs for ‘specialist’ or ‘technician’ roles, to avoid these costs being charged for the same individual twice, you must ensure that the percentage of their resource requested on an application is not also included within estates and indirect costs charged to the grant.
Technicians, librarians and professional enabling staff: further guidance and examples
Costing a technician
Some technician roles are now eligible to attract estates and indirect costs. This is when the role that the technician undertakes falls under the TRAC definition of research.
These technicians would normally be applied for under the ‘specialist’ or ‘technician’ role. This enables UKRI to support the Technician Concordat and links to the UKRI people and teams action plan.
Technician time spent undertaking infrastructure work, such as equipment calibration and health and safety checks, must be covered by estates and indirect costs for the project.
Worked examples of costing a technician on an application
Technician 1: an individual who is providing specialist skills, knowledge and intellectual input needed to complete specific tasks for the project. Their input is above what would normally be expected for general technical support. Their cost to the project is based on actual amounts of time, rather than estimations.
This individual should be added to the application under the ‘specialist’ role as a Directly Incurred cost and can attract estates and indirect costs.
Technician 2: an individual who is providing general technical support, specific to the project. Their cost is based on estimated rather than actual amounts of time spent on the project.
This individual should be added to the application under the ‘technician’ role as a Directly Allocated cost and can attract estates and indirect costs.
Technician 3: an individual who is undertaking infrastructure work that is not specific to the project.
This individual would not be added to the project under a specific role and their costs will be covered by the estates and indirect costs of the project.
Costing a librarian
If a project has a significant requirement for a specialist librarian (above what might normally be required and covered by ‘professional enabling staff’ costs), you will be able to include them as an individual under the ‘specialist’ role.
Costing professional enabling staff
The ‘professional enabling staff’ role is designed for those members of the project team who are making significant professional contributions to enable the project in areas such as finance, accounting, marketing and so on.
They are undertaking tasks that are specific to the project that are over and above what would be normally expected to be supplied as the general enabling activity that is usually funded from the estates and indirect costs awarded to the project.
Worked examples of costing professional enabling staff on an application:
Staff member 1: an individual who spends a significant proportion of their time undertaking finance and accounting tasks that are specific to the project. Their cost to the project is based on actual rather than estimated amounts of time.
This individual should be added to the application under the ‘professional enabling staff’ role as a Directly Incurred cost and can attract estates and indirect costs.
Staff member 2: an individual who spends a significant proportion of their time undertaking marketing tasks that are specific to the project. Their cost is based on estimated rather than actual amounts of time spent on the project.
This individual should be added to the application under the ‘professional enabling staff’ role as a Directly Allocated cost and can attract estates and indirect costs.
Staff member 3: an individual who is undertaking non-specialist enabling tasks that are not specific to the project, for example, providing general secretarial support for the department.
This individual would not be added to the project under a specific role and their costs will be covered by the estates and indirect costs of the project.