Access to the BlackDackel costing tool

11 May 2026

Guidance and support for modelling costs during the early stages of planning your research projects.

BlackDackel, the University’s research costing tool, is available to Researchers and Project Managers who wish to model costs during the early stages of planning their research projects.

Across the University, academics already use BlackDackel to: 

• Model different resource estimates for their proposed research projects 
• Explore different costing scenarios for a range of funders  
• Have better informed conversations with Research Services about their costing requests 

What do I need to do? 

If you are a Researcher or Project Manager and would like access to model costs in BlackDackel, please email the Research Costing Team at: researchcostingtool@manchester.ac.uk.  

If you prefer not to model costs yourself, no action is required. Your Research Services team continue to support costing requests in the usual way.  

What access will I receive?  

BlackDackel includes a dedicated Academic View, designed specifically to support Researchers and PMs with early-stage cost modelling capability to inform resource planning and viability discussions. With this access, you can: 

• Estimate staff costs using standard staff templates 
• Calculate non-staff costs, such as travel, equipment and facilities 
• Apply funder specific pricing templates to understand how costs align with funder rules 

You can then share your modelled costings with your Research Services contact, who will: 

• Review and finalise the costing for you 
• Link the costing to Pure 
• Progress approvals and submission to the funder 

Please note: This access is intended to support planning and discussion, not to replace Research Services processes. Finalisation, approval and submission of all research costings must continue to take place through your dedicated Research Services function. 

What support is available?  

A tailored support pathway for Researchers  and Project Managers is available on the Research Costing Tool website including: 

• Step‑by‑step guidance 
• Short training videos 
• Frequently Asked Questions 

All users are strongly encouraged to complete the BlackDackel Basics video training before modelling budgets for the first time. 

The Research Costing Team is available to support access requests and respond to queries relating to the costing tool. Please direct enquiries to researchcostingtool@manchester.ac.uk.