Grant policies relating to finances, travel and leave
Please ensure you have read and understood the policies below in relation to finances, no-cost extensions, grant suspensions and parental leave and travel costs.
Finances
Invoices should be uploaded onto our Grants Management System and submitted quarterly in arrears by the post award administrator. Expenditure must be claimed within twelve months of being incurred.
Allocations for salary and/or running expenses may be vired to other salary and/or running expenses subject to written approval. Please contact the Research team with a full justification for consideration.
No-cost extensions
If you encounter problems with your grant that may result in a delay, contact the Research team at least one month before the end date of your grant to discuss a time-only extension.
No-cost extensions will only be permitted if fully justified and there are sufficient unspent funds remaining on the grant.
Please see guidance below.
All Blood Cancer UK grants are awarded for a defined period as detailed in your Grant Award Letter and will have a specific end date.
For non-milestone grants, we will consider requests for no-cost extensions (NCEs) if received before the end date of a grant and there are sufficient unspent funds remaining on the grant. These fall into two main categories:
Extension of the grant end date to accommodate changes in funded research staff available to work on the project:
- Recruitment delays (where multiple key posts are not all activated at the same time)
- Gaps in post occupancy during the grant (e.g. a postdoc leaving)
- Where the grant-holder takes a period of leave (e.g. parental leave or sick leave);
- Where the grant-holder revises their hours of employment.
The grant end date may be extended in time only by up to 12 months to allow the continuation of project-related activities, within the scope of the original award.
These may include:
- Extra time required to complete original objectives of the grant due to delays encountered during the grant period
- Extension of research activities (e.g. increase ‘n’ number)
- Dissemination activities – access to funds required beyond original end date to allow for conference attendance to disseminate data, to hold workshops/meetings as part of grant activities.
- Non grant-specific activities – e.g. if the aims/activities on the grant have been completed, or the extension activities are significantly different from the original proposal (since these would not have been peer reviewed)
- Conference/meeting attendance for any purpose that is not dissemination
- Writing new grant proposals;
- Bridging funds to cover a period between grants.
Underspend – use of underspent funds to support a NCE must be justified. Significant underspend should be explained in relation to progress and/or the original costs requested.
Multiple NCEs – multiple postponements may be considered in exceptional circumstances.
Duration – NCE requests longer than 12 months for extended activities will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
Grant suspensions and parental leave
Please contact the Research team if you wish to suspend the grant, for example due to parental leave.
Blood Cancer UK is not the employer of staff on the grant. The institute where the grant is administered or staff post held is the employer and as such is responsible for any leave and pay during this time.
Travel costs
Travel for conferences to present research outputs arising directly from the Blood Cancer UK award is an allowable cost for the staff member(s) employed on the grant. Costs can include standard fare travel, accommodation and conference fees. Blood Cancer UK Grant holders are expected to acknowledge Blood Cancer UK in all presentations and/or posters. The amounts available vary by grant scheme. Specific limits will be detailed in the terms and conditions of your grant.
Further support
If you have any further queries about your grant or grant related processes, the Research team is here to help.
Please make sure to read the terms and conditions regarding all Blood Cancer UK grants in full.