Why will Research Councils only pay a part of the full economic cost?
The Government has asked RCs to maintain the current volume of research they support. Although the Government are providing the RCs with extra money because of fEC, initially they will only be able to pay a proportion of fEC. The figure of 80% of fEC was established, as this is the percentage that can be sustained based on the new funding level – without changing the volume of research supported. What happens with existing grants that are due to carry on running some time into the future? There will be no change to existing grants. All pre-fEC grants will be allowed to run their course. (However, in the event of a review point this may present an opportunity to switch to a fEC basis). Will Research Councils use common forms and procedures? Yes as far as possible. All research grants will be submitted to the Research Councils electronically via the joint electronic submission system (JeS). Are there any inadmissible costs under fEC? No – all costs that make up the full economic cost of
