How does fEC reflect the price to be charged to the funder?
It is important to emphasise the distinction between pricing and costing. All research projects should be costed on a fEC basis, irrespective of the funder’s pricing rules. The price should, however, be calculated as per the funding guidelines of the specific funder. fEC should not be seen, necessarily, as an upper limit on the pricing of commercial contracts. Some guidance has been provided by the OST on the use of QR funds including a checklist to assist in deciding whether the use of QR is legitimate in meeting the shortfall on research projects (insert a link to this guidance). The basic guideline is whether the research output will be publicly available and whether it is in the public good. All individuals authorising applications for grants and contracts should be aware of these issues as they sign off on them.
