Allowed costs

What costs are provided by Wellcome Trust awards?

Wellcome Trust awards provide for the directly incurred costs of the research project to be conducted. Directly incurred costs are actual costs that are explicitly identifiable as arising from the conduct of a project (e.g. staff salaries, equipment, materials, travel). These costs are charged as the cash value actually spent and are supported by an auditable record. Awards may also provide other costs where it serves our charitable mission and is adequately justified in the application for funding.

Inflation

A separate allowance for inflation will be provided. Applicants should not include inflation on grant costings. Further information can be found on our website.

Flexible funding allowance

A Flexible Funding Allowance (FFA) may be provided to meet the unanticipated, directly incurred costs of the research (including publication costs).

Applicants should not include the FFA in grant costings. Further information can be found on our website.

Salaries

Funds may be requested for the salary costs of all staff, full or part-time, who work on the project and whose time can be supported by a full audit trail.

Such costs typically include:

• research assistants/technicians who are to be employed on the grant
• principal applicants and co-applicants seeking their own salary support, if the Wellcome Trust is convinced that our fellowship support schemes are inappropriate for the individual and that the individual is an experienced independent researcher.

Salary costs sought should be commensurate with the skills, responsibilities and expertise necessary to carry out the role required. The level of salary sought should be justified in the reasons for support requested section of the form. We reserve the right to award support at a different level if considered appropriate.

Salary costs sought should include any increments to which the individual is entitled, and expected promotions or regarding where appropriate.

The host institution is responsible, as the employer, for the contracts of employment of the staff concerned, and consequently for any redundancy or other compensatory payments that may be required.Work permits, where required, are a matter for direct negotiation between the host institution and the relevant government departments.

Materials and consumables

We will meet the costs of materials and consumables required to carry out the proposed research.

These costs may include laboratory chemicals and materials (e.g. reagents, isotopes, peptides, enzymes, antibodies, gases, proteins, cell/tissue/bacterial culture, plastic ware and glassware, etc.), and photographic supplies.

Animals

Funds may be requested to cover the purchase and maintenance of animals, and for any experimental procedures involving animals, when animal use is essential to the project.

These costs may include the purchase costs of animals, food and maintenance charges (e.g. diet, bedding, disinfectant, disposal bags) and labour costs (including estimated costs where the institution is not adopting a policy of full cost recovery).

Equipment, equipment maintenance and access charges

Unless exemptions for equipment used on medical research apply, VAT can be included in the application.

Applicants can request items of equipment essential to the proposed research project.

We will consider requests to cover equipment maintenance for equipment originally funded by us. Maintenance costs of equipment not funded by us may not be sought.

We will, however, only consider providing maintenance funds for equipment more than five years old if the applicant can demonstrate that it is cost-effective to do so.

Access charges to specific equipment may be sought.

Access charges may cover maintenance of service contracts, running costs, staff time and material and consumables.

Publication costs

Charges made by publishers to meet the costs of publishing in open access journals (see the Trust's full policy on open access publishing) should not be requested on individual grant applications as the Trust has provided alternative sources of funding (see FAQs).

Miscellaneous other costs

This list is indicative rather than exhaustive, but is intended to provide guidance on the types of cost that may be requested.

Costs should be specified as far as possible, and justified in terms of requirement of the research proposed.

These costs may include:

• specialist publications (not found in institutional libraries)
• consultancy fees
• fieldwork fees
• expenses incurred by human volunteers
• recruitment and advertising costs for staff employed on the grant
• purchase/hire/running costs of project-dedicated vehicles.

Travel costs

The Wellcome Trust automatically provides funds for the principal applicant and each research assistant to attend scientific meetings.

Other travel funds (e.g. for collaborative visits) may be requested. Travel costs should be based on the most suitable and economical form of travel.