Why do RCs use the GDP deflator as the basis for indexation?
The GDP deflator is a known standard and reflects the level of indexation that RCs are likely to receive. They are therefore applying to Researcher Organisations the same indexation that will apply to Councils themselves. 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
