UCS PRE-AWARD PROCESS PROJECT DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST

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Flora Harper
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1 UCS PRE-AWARD PROCESS PROJECT DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST You may find it helpful to consider the prompts below when you are developing your project proposal. Please remember that further support is available from Andreea Tocca, Research Development Manager or Finance & Planning team PROJECT SCOPE What can be realistically achieved by this project, taking into account timescale, funding, expertise available? Do you need to involve other UCS departments or external organisations to add strength to your proposal? If the funder has made clear how much money is available for the project then it is possible to use this as a guide to show how many days work this is likely to pay for. You can get help with this from the Finance & Planning and R&E Teams. Some funders will have rules regarding payment of overheads, or of specific types of equipment purchase which may also affect the scope of the project that you can run for the money available. If the funder does not make clear how much money is available then it may be possible to see how much has been awarded to projects in the past and to use this as a guide. You need to talk to your Head of Department about how much time is available for you to work on funded research & enterprise activities and how any money brought in might be used to buybehind teaching or provide assistance with fieldwork or data collection. No costs/price should be given externally or any acceptance to do the work, until the costing has received full approval so that Finance & Planning know the project is viable for UCS. Are there skills or areas of professional/academic expertise which would enhance your project proposal? If so, these may be available in UCS. The Research and Enterprise can help with identifying potential partners and with contacting external organisations. UCS Project Development Checklist Page 1 of 12 Version 3, dated

2 If you are considering a project which is funded by the European Union then you are required to have partner organisations in other countries and to fulfil other conditions. The Research and Enterprise and Finance & Planning teams can provide help with this and provide advice on conditions that may apply to specific funds. If you are working in collaboration with other organisations, who will act as the project lead (individual) and which will be the lead organisation? Are you clear about the roles within the collaboration regarding the development of the project proposal? What are the specific aims of the project? The lead organisation is likely to have (depending on the funder) responsibility for financial control in the project and for ensuring that the project meets any targets set for outputs and outcomes. Typically, partner organisations may be expected to make a contribution to the costs of the lead organisation (to cover additional administration and audit). This should be discussed as early as possible in the project development process to ensure that additional costs can be built into the budget and that agreements between the partners can be put in place. You will need to determine who is going to do what in the development of the project proposal. If the form is large and requires several sections to be completed it can help to distribute these between partners. You should make sure that one person has responsibility for pulling these together and ensuring that they represent one coherent message (editing). You should also be clear which organisation (typically the lead) has responsibility for submission of the documentation. You will need to allow sufficient time to collect together all the sign-offs and permissions from the partner organisations. These may need to be included in the submission, so will need to be with the lead several days before the deadline. Have you been able to draw up specific aims for the project? Are these in line with the funder s interests or similar to topics that you know they have funded in the past? If not, do you have an indication that your topic is something that they might be willing to fund? Many funders have named contacts who can provide specific advice via or telephone. UCS Project Development Checklist Page 2 of 12 Version 3, dated

3 Have you fully reviewed the literature - how does this project address current gaps in knowledge? Does your Head of Department support the project? It may be helpful to conduct a review of literature to support your proposal and to help you show that your project is not repeating work that has already been carried out. You may not need to include this in your proposal, but you are likely to find it helpful in the design or write up of your work. Your Head of Department/Executive Dean is required to sign off any project using staff or other resources from the school. It is therefore important that they know about, and have indicated support for, your project. METHODS What methods will you use to achieve your aims? Can you justify why this is your preferred methodology (as opposed to other possible approaches)? Is the approach feasible? What evidence do you have to think it is? You will need to be able to show that the methods you have selected to undertake this piece of work will enable you to meet your aims, answer your research question(s), generate outcomes and produce outputs that meet the funder s requirements. The connection should be clear to a lay reader. This can be particularly important when conducting commissioned research where the funder requires an answer to a specific question(s) or guidance about a particular issue. Have you allowed enough time? The project initiation stage, including the recruitment of participants will often take longer than originally anticipated. Similarly, have you allowed enough time to analysis results and to produce the report? How can you convince the funder that the approach and timescale that you are suggesting is feasible given time and financial resources available? UCS Project Development Checklist Page 3 of 12 Version 3, dated

4 Can you demonstrate that the project team is (or will be) trained / competent to employ the method(s) proposed? What previous experience do they bring to the project? Have you considered any ethical issues raised by your proposed methods? Do you have any preliminary data/findings showing feasibility with the proposed method(s)? How can you present the proposed method in a way that is clear to a non- Many funders will require you to include CVs for each member of the project team. You may find it helpful to include CVs for members of the project team even if they are not specifically requested. If you are intended to recruit a research assistant to support the work then you may need to include a person specification. It is also helpful to highlight experience in the topic area or (as appropriate) the methods chosen. UCS has an ethics approval process which you will need to submit your proposal to, before starting any work, if you are intending to conduct primary research using humans or non-human animals. Some funders may require you to have ethical approval prior to submitting your application please check whether this is the case. If you intend to work with the NHS (either staff or patients), please contact Research and Enterprise there are particular processes and approvals required. This process can take a long time, so you may need to consider how this impacts on the start date for your project. Some other organisations (including Suffolk County Council) may require you to have approvals from ethics or research governance committees. For some work you may need to secure Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for research staff you may need to consider how long this will take in determining the timescales for starting your project. You could draw on past studies that you have been involved in, or those taken from the literature. These should be used to justify decisions taken in designing the approach you are usin including things like sample size and stakeholder groups that you intend to engage with. If the funder has an application form then this must be used. If there is no application form, then you might find some of the sub-headings below useful help UCS Project Development Checklist Page 4 of 12 Version 3, dated

5 specialist reader and flows logically? (not all will be applicable to every project): Project title (does it describe the project and contain keywords for indexing / searching) Proposal summary / overview (keep this brief, clear, interesting) Organisation(s) involved in the project Background/strategy of organisation(s) involved Project team / key contacts for more information Objectives (these should be specific and measurable) Ethical review Timetable & project milestones User involvement Resources required e.g. specialist equipment Costs (realistic and reflect the proposed timetable) Funding (is any other source of funding required? Has this been secured?) Sample group description Sample size and other statistical considerations (randomisation, power calculation, analysis plan etc.) Inclusion / exclusion criteria How will information be collected and analysed? (e.g. data collection tools, instruments, questionnaires, interview schedules etc.) Project management arrangements Policies / procedures / regulations that will apply to the project e.g. data protection etc. Insurance / indemnity arrangements Dissemination plan List of references Do you have a clear dissemination strategy? Are you clear how you intend to share the results and outcomes of your project? The funder will expect to see that you are seeking to maximise the impact that your work will have on other academics or on practice. UCS Project Development Checklist Page 5 of 12 Version 3, dated

6 RESOURCES Where will you conduct the project? Are there unique features of this site / environment that will facilitate the project e.g. equipment, laboratory/office space, software, access to data or participants, in-house expertise? What additional resources will you need (if any)? Will the funder support these costs? Can the project team provide the necessary expertise and function to deliver the project? Do you have access to resources (for example rooms) that you might need to run interviews or focus groups? Do you have access to the lab space that you need? Can you access this at the times you need and for the duration of the project? If you are conducting work off-site, then do you have permission to use this space? Will there be a cost attached? If you need specialist equipment or other resources then are these in place and available? If not, do they need to be bought using project money or is there other money to purchase them? (Some funders will have very specific rules concerning this) Will you need items such as desk space for research assistants or students, additional equipment or consumables, specialist software to run analysis or will you need to do large volumes of printing? If so, you might be able to get additional funds to pay for this. If you cannot, then you will need to discuss this with your Head of Department. Do you have the time to deliver the project? Are you being bought out of teaching? If you are not doing the project work, then who will? Are you able to ensure that you can access the right skills at the right time? What happens if a key member of the project team is not available? Are their skills replaceable? UCS Project Development Checklist Page 6 of 12 Version 3, dated

7 How will you select any unidentified staff e.g a research assistant? Will you need additional expertise e.g. statistical advice? If yes, how will you obtain this? Will you need to establish an advisory board or steering committee to oversee the project? Have you allowed adequate time and money for recruitment? How long will you need them for? Do you know what skills and experience you are looking for? Do you have a person specification prepared? Have you agreed who will line manage an assistant? Do you know what duties they will take on and what you will not be expecting them to do? Have you discussed this with Human Resources? Do you know who might provide this advice? Will you need to pay them? Have you allowed for this in your budget? A steering group is normally a good idea, particularly for commissioned research where the funder may expect to have a say in the running of the project. You will need to ensure that it has the right membership (that individuals can speak for the organisations they represent and make decisions) and that the group is able to sort out issues that the project might face as it progresses. You will need to think about how often it should meet and who will make a record of discussions. UCS Project Development Checklist Page 7 of 12 Version 3, dated

8 RISK ASSESSMENT Have you performed a risk assessment? You should consider the likelihood of things going wrong in your project and the potential impact that it might have if they do (risk = likelihood x impact). You might like to consider risks in the following categories: Reputation (personal and institutional) Project (the operation of your work) Commercial or Financial Legal Health and Safety Advice on assessing risk can be given by Research and Enterprise and, in the case of Health and Safety, from the Health and Safety Officer. Have you considered ways in which you can reduce the chance of something going wrong, or the impact that it might have? You may be required to submit information on how you will mitigate risks as part of your application. Even if you are not, then this information will be a valuable part of your project plan if you are successful. INSURANCE Does the project fall within the scope of UCS s current insurance cover? If other organisation(s) are involved in the project, do they have adequate insurance in You can get advice on UCS s insurance cover from Finance & Planning. If additional cover is required then it might be possible to include this as part of the project budget. If there are other partner organisations involved then you should have a conversation with them to ensure that they all have adequate insurance. If you are acting as a lead partner then you may also have a responsibility to make sure that this cover is in place. In this circumstance, you UCS Project Development Checklist Page 8 of 12 Version 3, dated

9 place? should contact the Finance & Planning Team to make sure that these obligations can be met. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Does the project use any background IP? If yes, do you have (or need to gain) permission to use it? (e.g. from authors of validated questionnaires) Is the project likely to generate new intellectual property? Have you checked the funder s terms and conditions for their position on IP ownership and exploitation? Background Intellectual Property already exists and is claimed by the owner or author it may be (but is not limited to) a patent, trademark, registered design or copyright. If you intend to use any Background IP then you will need the permission of the author to do so. They may already provide this permission through a statement or through a license such as one of the forms of Creative Commons license Some further information on IP can be found at If you are in any doubt about IP issues then you should contact the Research and Enterprise/Finance & Planning Teams. Please make very sure that you have permission to use any Background IP in your project. If different partners are bringing their own IP to the project then a formal agreement will probably be required. Please make sure that you speak to Finance & Planning as soon as you are aware there might be IP issues. UCS will need to decide whether any IP that is generated by this project should be protected (e.g. through a patent, registered design or similar). If you believe you may be generating IP then please speak to the Finance & Planning and Research and Enterprise Teams. Some funders will require that IP is licensed in particular ways or that research outputs are released as open source. Please speak to the Research and Enterprise/Finance & Planning Team who can help check the funder s position. If a funder does not permit the protection and commercial exploitation of IP that is generated by a project and there is a realistic expectation of an output being commercially valuable then it is UCS Project Development Checklist Page 9 of 12 Version 3, dated

10 possible that an alternative funder might need to be sought. CONTRACT TERMS & CONDITIONS Does the funder publish standard terms and conditions for this funding scheme? If more than one organisation is involved in the project, is there (or will there need to be) a contract to outline roles / responsibilities / liabilities for the project? If yes, are they acceptable to the project team and all organisation(s) involved in the project? You can get further advice on contracts and terms and conditions from the Finance & Planning Team. If yes, please contact the Research and Enterprise. PRE-SUBMISSION PEER REVIEW What level of peer review do you think is appropriate for this project before you submit to the funder (lay/expert, internal/external)? Do you have potential peer reviewer(s) in mind? Now is a good time to contact them and ask if they would be willing. This might depend on the size of the project (it may not be necessary to review a small project as intensely), your experience and confidence in the proposal that you are putting forward and the degree to which the funding application is competitive. The Research and Enterprise can assist with reviewing and is normally happy to provide lay review for projects. Please make sure that you have allowed enough time for this process and to accommodate any proposed amendments. You should consider asking academic colleagues with similar interests to read and comment on your proposal. If you are considering asking people external to the organisation to read the proposal then you may need to consider confidentiality, particularly with regard to project costings. You may also like to have your proposal read by people who are not subject specialists UCS Project Development Checklist Page 10 of 12 Version 3, dated

11 but who can comment on the lay summary (if you have one) and on the general style and readability of the proposal document. How long will peer reviewer(s) need to look at the proposal and provide you with feedback? Will the funder seek expert peer review for your proposal? If yes, do you know how they will select reviewers? Are you able to suggest potential peer reviewers (be wary of conflict of interest)? Are you able to name people you would prefer your proposal not be sent to? Peer reviewers may need a couple of weeks to read and comment on your proposal (depending on its length and complexity). You should also make sure that you have enough time to review their comments and make any adjustments to the project protocols (including any consequent changes to the budget). The funder may ask you to provide contact details for people that would be prepared to read and comment on your proposed project for them. They will need to be expert in the field and should not have an interest in the project. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Who else will help prepare the proposal (colleagues, administrators, service users etc)? Have you contacted them and organised their input? What supporting documents will you need to submit as part of the proposal - have you considered the timescale required to get You can access help and support from a number of departments at UCS including: Research and Enterprise, Finance & Planning, Human Resources and Facilities. You might also need/want help and support from external organisations that represent users and/or professionals. Please make sure that you allow enough time for them to be able to help you and to contribute to your proposal. You might need to provide copies of accounts, policies or other documents that UCS holds. It is also possible that you will need to provide supporting documentation that will need to be specifically written. You will need to allow additional time for this. UCS Project Development Checklist Page 11 of 12 Version 3, dated

12 these documents? UCS Project Development Checklist Page 12 of 12 Version 3, dated

Please read this guidance carefully and consider its definitions within the context of your own research proposal.

Please read this guidance carefully and consider its definitions within the context of your own research proposal. Technical Plan A Technical Plan should be provided for all applications where digital outputs or digital technologies are an essential part of the planned research outcomes. A digital output or digital