How will fEC affect research funded by Government Departments?
All government departments have been instructed by the Treasury to pay 100 per cent of fEC unless the Government has determined a different policy for a particular department to allow it to pay at the same rates as the Research Councils. At present this only applies to the NHS (not the Department of Health) where an NHS trust is contributing to the project by making clinical facilities available and the trust is not recharging for the use of these facilities. NHS bodies have now made explicit statements on web-sites that they expect to meet 80% of fEC from April 2006. Refer to the NHS Health Technology Assessment Programme at www.hta.nhsweb.nhs.uk, under FAQ/Submitting Proposals; and the NHS Service Delivery Organisation Research and Development Programme on www.sdo.lshtm.ac.uk. HEIs will need to negotiate research contracts with local NHS trusts but it is anticipated that the same principles will apply. The Scottish Executive has confirmed that, along with its agencies and non-departm
