How does fEC operate, for research conducted abroad?
Indirect Costs should be included – Estate Costs should be excluded. Will charities and other funders pay at the same percentage as Research Councils? fEC is about costing, not pricing. Charities may accept fEC as a methodology but still choose not to fund certain costs. Funders however, may find it difficult to argue against the time of the Principal Investigator, and possibly Estate Costs directly linked to a project – so even charities which are reluctant to pay overheads may be persuaded to pay some previously unrecoverable costs. If we are charging higher prices, won’t research funders just take their business to another University? There should be no vulnerability in this respect, because all HEIs are subject to the requirements of Full Economic Costing. Will Research Council peer review discriminate against higher cost bids under fEC? The Research Councils are committed to judge bids correctly – emphasis to be placed on scientific excellence and whether the resources are appropr
