As Principal Investigator (PI) you may receive notification of an award directly from the Funder, in which case a copy of the documentation should be forwarded to your RSS Team in your Faculty/School. 

Research Council funding notifications are sent directly to the Head of the Research Office, and disseminated to the relevant RSS Team and PI by the Research Operations Team.

Awards may differ from the proposal, so you will need to check the funding notification for changes, particularly to the budget, duration, and/or work specification. If the funder has imposed changes you will need to consider whether the research can be conducted within these new limits.

If you are happy to proceed, the RSS Team will consult with you regarding any amendments that need to be made.

Following consultation with the PI, the RSS Team from the submitting school will formally accept the award on behalf of the University and the PI. PIs are not authorised to sign on behalf of the University. If an award is accepted by a PI, it will not be valid.

As the PI, you may be required to complete a Funder acceptance form. These forms will vary between Funders and will require the authorisation of the University and/or the Principal Investigator.

Please be aware that the Research Councils follow specified starting procedures. Failure to comply with these procedures, within the defined timelines, will put your funding at risk.
The cross-council starting procedures are outlined in the Terms and Conditions of Research Council fEC Grants.

If your research project includes any external collaborators and/or subcontractors, you may need a contract research contract. Your RSS team will help you with this and you can find further guidance here.

If due diligence checks are required, they will need to be completed before the contract can be signed. Again, your RSS team will help you with this and you can find further guidance here.

Your RSS team will help you with this and you can find further guidance here:

• FBMH
• Humanities
• FSE