(1) This Procedure is effective from 2 August 2023. (2) The law governing externally funded research contracts at Deakin includes: (3) To document the procedures that apply to contracts arising from externally funded grants and consultancies for research purposes. (4) This Procedure covers all externally funded grants and consultancies for research purposes including: (5) This Procedure is pursuant to the Contracts policy. (6) Academic staff are encouraged to secure external funding to support research activities that: (7) The University recognises that funding bodies are entitled to specify the scope of the research project and that contracts are a matter of negotiation between the parties, however it will generally not accept agreements where: (8) Where there is significant use of university resources in undertaking such work, reimbursement to the University from the revenue received may occur in order to defray the costs of university overheads. (9) Contracts must cover financial management, intellectual property, authorship and publication, consultancies and secondments, ethics approval, and ownership and storage of data, materials and equipment, to the extent that they are relevant to the project. (10) All research contracts entered into must comply with the requirements of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018 and the Research Conduct policy. (11) All research contracts entered into must comply with the Contracts policy. (12) Grants and consultancies must be entered into with a proper understanding of the costs of the work to the University and provisions for recovery of those costs where appropriate. (13) For grant applications, funding agency guidelines usually prescribe what can be included in the budget and in many cases will not accept expenditure on overheads or indirect costs. Where a funding agency will accept such costs these must be included in the application. (14) Research Contracts will be priced at full commercial rates and include provision for overheads and indirect costs. (15) For consultancies, competitive neutrality with external organisations must be observed, i.e. consultancies must be priced at full commercial rates and the client must pay for all costs including overheads and indirect costs. (16) The University maintains professional indemnity and other insurances. Staff should seek assistance from the Risk and Compliance Office when required. (17) Ownership of Intellectual Property will be as agreed with the funding organisation and will accord with Deakin University policy and procedures. (Refer Intellectual Property Policy (Staff); Intellectual Property Policy (Students); Intellectual Property Procedure) (18) No time restrictions apply on Academic staff involvement in research and university consultancies other than those imposed by the funding organisation, provided the Head of School or Director of Institute is satisfied that any other responsibilities of the staff member, including teaching, are not adversely affected or are sufficiently dealt with through other mechanisms such as provision of teaching relief funded by the contract. (19) Professional staff may work on University consultancies subject to approval by their supervisor and the Head of School/Director of Institute. (20) A staff member is entitled to remuneration for activities undertaken from grants and research only if such a payment meets the conditions of the grant agreement or research contract. (21) Professional staff may be entitled to receive additional remuneration subject to approval by their supervisor and the Head of School/Director of Institute. The grounds for such remuneration may be that the work was substantially completed outside of normal hours worked or involved accessing skills, knowledge or expertise not currently recognised in the staff member's existing role and classification. Advice on managing these situations should be sought from the Human Resources Division. (22) The University recognises performance in consultancies and the contribution associated with attracting external grants in promotions criteria. (23) Reporting and accountability will be as agreed with the funding agency. (24) Research and some consultancy income contribute to funding the University receives through a number of government schemes and it is critical therefore that wherever possible proposed arrangements ensure eligibility for recognition under the relevant scheme's criteria. (25) Externally funded clinical trials must be approved by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation. (26) Clinical trials are potentially a high risk activity. Externally funded clinical trials must provide for the funding agency to indemnify the University against risks arising from the clinical trial. Arrangements for insurance and indemnity must be approved by the Risk and Compliance Unit of the University prior to completion of the contract. (27) All clinical trials must comply with the requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Administration. (28) Clinical trials must be registered with a recognised clinical trial registry. Advice on this is available from the Human Research Ethics Office. (29) For the purpose of this Procedure:Externally Funded Research Contracts procedure
Section 1 - Preamble
Governing Law
Top of PageSection 2 - Purpose
Section 3 - Scope
Top of PageSection 4 - Policy
Section 5 - Procedure
Compliance with Research policy and procedures
Compliance with Contracts policy and procedure
Costing and pricing
Insurance cover and indemnity
Intellectual property ownership
Time restrictions
Staff entitlement to remuneration
Promotions criteria
Reporting and accountability
Inclusion in commonwealth government funding calculations
Clinical trials
Section 6 - Definitions
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