(1) This Policy is effective from 1 January 2024. (2) This Policy supports sustainable research through the appropriate, consistent, and transparent costing and pricing of externally funded research and the management of research and research consultancy project funds. (3) This Policy applies to all externally funded research and research consultancy projects. (4) The Policy does not apply to research funding applications submitted prior to the introduction of this Policy which are subject to the rules that applied at the time of application. (5) The University recognises that there are direct and indirect costs to the University in undertaking projects. (6) The University adopts a transparent methodology for costing research and research consultancy projects in alignment with the Victorian Government’s Competitive Neutrality policy. (7) The University is committed to developing sustainable research capability by recovering costs incurred in the course of undertaking externally funded research and research consultancy and seeks to price research projects to recover, as a minimum, all direct and indirect costs from project funds where permitted by the funding organisation. The University provides approved costing tools to facilitate costing and pricing of research. (8) The costing and pricing of research and research consultancy projects must be calculated using one of the University’s approved costing tools (on the Project Accounting Sharepoint site)and as prescribed in the Research Costing and Pricing procedure. (9) Researchers must seek specialist advice from the Deakin Research Innovations Team on costing and pricing for research and research consultancy projects: (10) The indirect cost fee will not be applied to agreements: (11) Where the funding organisation allows the application of indirect costs: (12) Pricing of research and research consultancy projects should reflect the high quality and value services provided by the University. Research and research consultancy projects must be priced in line with market prices and an additional mark-up of 20% or greater of direct costs should be applied where the market allows. (13) The relevant Executive Dean or Institute Director, in exceptional circumstances only, may approve pricing below full cost as defined within Policy definitions. Where approved, the deficit (difference of amount) must be met from the internal research budget of the relevant Faculty or Institute and listed in the agreement as in-kind. (14) All research revenue received into the University will be managed in accordance with the revenue accounting standard AASB15 and AASB1058 as applicable. (15) Salaries should be charged directly to the project in the HR system. By exception only, where staff work across multiple projects, with no set time allocations, a recovery process to individual projects will be completed by the Research Finance team within the University’s financial year. Where salaries are included in the funding agreement but are paid from Deakin’s operating funds, funds must be recovered within the University’s financial year from the project back to the operating fund where the salary is paid from. (16) In exceptional circumstances where it is not possible to directly allocate an allowable expense at the time of the transaction, the Director, Research Finance may approve a recovery journal. The journal must be processed within the University’s financial year. (17) Where an indirect cost rate is included in a research or research consultancy project and is able to be charged to the funding organisation, the Research Finance team will either: (18) Revenue from indirect costs: (19) After all expenses allowed by the funding organisation, including salaries and indirect costs, have been allocated in the finance system to the project and the funding organisation does not require the return of unspent funds, the residual balance may be transferred by the Research Finance team into a Strategic Growth Fund. (20) Strategic Growth Funds are to be used to support and incentivise researchers to attract more research funding and grow their overall research performance, including supporting continuity and expansion and external resourcing of research of the University. Use of these funds should be strategic and planned and expended in accordance with the Strategic Growth Fund procedure. (21) The following procedures document how to comply with this Policy: (22) For the purpose of this Policy:Research Funding and Research Consultancy, Costing and Pricing policy
Section 1 - Preamble
Section 2 - Purpose
Section 3 - Scope
Section 4 - Policy
Costing and Pricing
Research Accounting and Direct Cost Allocation
Indirect Cost Allocation
Treatment of residual balances at the conclusion of a project
Section 5 - Procedure
Section 6 - Definitions
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