Manage Project Lifecycle (Waterford Campus)

This is the initial phase of the lifecycle where a funding agency/sponsor issues a call for research proposals or where industry makes funding available directly for a research project.

Information regarding research funding opportunities that are relevant to SETU Waterford Researchers are identified and disseminated by the RSU. There are a number of ways by which the RSU disseminates relevant funding opportunities Researchers as follows:

• Research Newsletter
• Funding Opportunities webpage
• Pure Funding Opportunities
• National and European Research Programme Officers
• SETU Research X Account

The Research Proposal Phase begins with the PI being notified of a funding opportunity and the steps required to prepare and authorise a proposal for submission to the funding agency/sponsor.

The RSU works closely with Researchers and other SETU Waterford central support offices to ensure that research proposals are complete, accurate and consistent with the terms and conditions of the funding agency/sponsor and in line with SETU Waterford policies and procedures. 

This includes supporting the accurate costing of proposals by Research Finance, reviewing proposals and proposal writing support. The Head of School or nominee must be made aware of, and approve, the total cost of delivering the proposed research activities, personnel resources to be allocated to ensuring successful delivery of the project and any additional resource requirements, such as space, and the proposed level of funding being sought, including match funding required. Budget costs must be reviewed by Research Finance before submission to the funding agency/sponsor on Pure.

Research Finance will ensure that the costs are correctly categorised and that all costs are eligible. All research proposals must be signed by the University’s authorised signatory (usually the Vice President for Research, Innovation & Graduate Studies or his/her nominee) before submission. Researchers are requested to upload the final draft of their proposal to the Pure record in advance of the programme closing. This allows time for any potential compliance, budgetary, legal or ethical issues to be resolved and feedback provided to the applicant, in advance of submitting the proposal to the funding agency/sponsor. In the case of consultancy, signatory of the Vice President for Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies must be obtained at contract stage.

The RSU rely on the expertise and experience of the Researchers to determine what specific support is required. More experienced research centre teams may require less support in project management though are expected to broadly follow the research guidelines. Those new to research or with less experience should always seek the full spectrum of project management support from the RSU which include:

• An eligibility check on applicant and proposal for the desired funding opportunity.
• Guidance on the types of Research Proposals
• Guidance in understanding SETU procedures such as using Pure, defined templates and University support statements.
• Facilitating a budget check by the Research Finance team through Pure.
• A check to ensure ethics are thoroughly considered in this stage and beyond.
• That Intellectual Property has been considered.

This phase in the research project lifecycle includes all the activities that must be undertaken to complete a legally binding contract between the funding agency/sponsor, the PI and SETU following a letter of offer or commitment to provide funding.

Once a proposal is successful, the funding agency/sponsor typically issues a formal offer of funding to the University. This Letter of Offer or Research Agreement outlines the terms and conditions imposed on the University, its collaborators and the PI in accepting the funding for the particular research programme. 

At this stage it is advisable for the PI to arrange a meeting with a member of the RSU to discuss post award contract management issues. Acceptance of the research grant must be approved by the Vice President for Research, Innovation & Graduate Studies or nominee, before the commencement of any work on the project. The RSU organises signature of formal acceptance documents on behalf of the PI and returns same to the funding agency/sponsor. Associated research agreement, e.g. legal or IP, must be approved and signed by all parties, before the research account is set up. Research Agreements must be reviewed by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Innovation & Graduate Studies to ensure the contract terms and conditions are acceptable to SETU.

Where a particular sponsor is providing funding to SETU Waterford for the first time, the University may carry out a due diligence exercise to ensure that there is no conflict of interest with regard to the funding received or research activity being carried out.

In the case of projects with external partners (e.g. Innovation Vouchers, Innovation Partnerships, consultancy, etc.) the TTO will provide assistance with drafting and negotiating the necessary contractual agreements.

Budget Setup

Once the Research Contract Phase has been completed, the PI can use the RSU digital P code set up from here: https://www.cognitoforms.com/WIT8/SubAccountSetupForm, you can fill in the award details and attach the signed award documents. 

The RSU will then review and send to finance to set up the budget under a Project code or what we term P code and I will update the award details on our internal records system.  This code will then be used as an internal reference for the project and for all payments and purchases under this project including all recruitment and procurement of services, expenses, equipment and consumables.

Recruitment and Procurement

Once a research grant has been set up by Research Finance, the PI can initiate recruitment of staff and students to the grant, and can commence the purchasing of equipment and consumables.

All Finance policies, forms and notes are available on the Q Drive: Q:\Public\Finance

All Procurement policies and forms are also available on the Q drive: Q:\Public\Procurement

Please click to download an overview of Managing Your Research Finances: a presentation given by Research Finance (March 2023).

Procurement policy: supplies and services

• Quotations (all thresholds are inclusive of VAT):
  • Up to €1000: One written quote
  • €1000 to €5,000: Two written quotes
  • €5,000 to €25,000: Three written quotes
  • €25,000 to €215,000: Tender procedures as per Government Guidelines
  • €215,000 Plus:Tender procedures as per EU Procurement Directives
  • €5,382,000 Plus:Works as per EU Procurement Directives
• Competitive quotes should be sought in the case of materials, equipment and services (including consultants and contractors).
• Refer to SETU Waterford’s preferred suppliers list on the Q drive under Procurement. These suppliers have succeeded in the tendering process and have secured a contract with SETU Waterford. Random suppliers cannot be chosen, e.g. Officestuff is the preferred stationery supplier and DELL is the preferred PC/laptop supplier.

M7 purchasing system

• To find out about access to M7 please contact the Finance Department "M7 Queries SETU Waterford" 
• Training on M7 is provided by the Finance Department "M7 Queries SETU Waterford" 
• Five key steps in the M7 process:
  • Complete the Purchase Requisition Form, ensure to obtain sign-off from the Project Budget Holder
  • The order raised on M7 with all relevant quotes attached - the system will generate a purchase order (PO) number
  • Lodge original Purchase Requisition Form with relevant approver
  • Send original invoice to the Finance Department – include relevant PO
  • Goods receive the item on M7 once received.

Bank Transfer Payment (Cheques and Petty cash no longer used in SETU Waterford)

• Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is used for any miscellaneous purchase that occurs on a once-off basis where the total value is less than €1k.
• To obtain payment, compete a EFT form which can be found on the Q-drive, noting the requirements as follows:
• Payee Full name and address
• IBAN (22digits) and BIC (8-11 digits)
• Copy of Invoice/Receipt/Online Order of items purchased.
• Copy of Credit/Debit Card Statement showing amount debited (all other transactions that are irrelevant, should be blanked out to comply with GDPR)
• Completed Hospitality Form where applicable.
• Short explanation outlining the requirement for the purchase and why the item was not sourced through a supplier already set up in M7.
• It should be noted that Procurement rules apply and quotes should be submitted where required.
• The form should be signed by the requestor and applicable Budget Holder.
• Completed forms and back up should be forwarded to a[email protected] for reimbursement.”

Core ESS travel

• The approver for pre-approving travel (before travel) & re-approving travel (after travel) is the supervisor (in the case of funded research scholars) / project budget holder.
• If claiming receipted items, copies of all receipts must be given to the approver, accompanied by the trip print-out.
• Travel payments are processed by Payroll every second Wednesday.
• Travel is paid on a fortnightly basis by bank transfer.
• All Core ESS travel queries should be directed to the ">Payroll Department
• Training on Core ESS is provided by the Payroll Department. 

Procurement files and links

New Supplier Setup Form

Sole Supplier Justification form 

New Customer Setup Form

Invoice Request Form

Recruiting Research Staff

If the funded research project includes a provision for team members, a number of steps must be taken to ensure that these research staff team members have current contracts of employment and are on the Core HR System for their salary payments. The PI must be aware of, and adhere to, the SETU Waterford Open, Transparent & Merit-based Policy for the Effective Recruitment and Selection of Funded Research Staff (OTM-R).

Once the research account (P-Code) has been issued to the PI, the process of recruitment can commence through the new online e-recruitment on Core-HR Portal Recruitment.

Getting a Vacancy for a Research Post Approved Internally for Advertisement

The Correct Procedure for requesting a vacancy to be approved for advertising for this university has now moved to our Core HR system and is referred to as E-Recruitment. 

All recruitment must go through this process except for work experience, Internships & Emergency Cover. Emergency cover will require approval from the subcommittee, via Neil O’Sullivan at [email protected], but the recruitment process does not go through the E-recruitment.

If you do not have access to raise a staff request, your line manager must instruct HR to give you the appropriate access

The steps in E-Recruitment process are as follows:

• Add the Request: The staff request must be completed on E-recruitment via the Core Portal.  Please login to Core and navigate to the recruitment section (see Video below and user guides as there are a few steps to add your staff request: e.g. manager dashboard, recruitment, view requests, your establishment, search for post etc, you will need to follow the guide) the post is not available under “Your Establishment”, contact research recruitment. Only hiring managers will have access. 
• Complete the form and the Online tabs: When each tab on the staff request section under recruitment on the E-recruitment/Core portal has been completed (see video below) by the hiring manager and a fully completed Person Specification Form (see below) has been uploaded to the staff request, the request can then be submitted for approval.
• Stage 1 Approval: The staff request will then go to the various approvers automatically via the portal. Depending on the type of vacancies, the request will have to go to either 4 or 5 approvers. The requestor will have access to view their staff request at all stages of the approval process on the Core portal dashboard.
• Final Stage approval: At the HR Manager approval stage, if funding is in place, the HR Manager will approve the request. If funding is not in place, then the HR Manager will bring the request to the Subcommittee for approval (the subcommittee normally meets every 2 weeks, but this is subject to change). Once the subcommittee approves the staff request, the HR Manager will then approve it on the portal.  
• Advertise the post: The Research Recruitment Officer will then move to advertise the vacancy and engage with the Hiring Manager/Requester.
  • Internal vacancies are generally advertised for one week & external vacancies for two weeks.
• Shortlisting: Following the advertisement, the research recruitment officer will prepare the shortlisting pack will send it to the shortlisting panel via the E-recruitment portal.
  • Shortlisting Complete: When the shortlisting is completed on E-recruitment, the fully completed Selection Control Form is emailed to the research recruitment officer, who will only, then, place it in the queue to be scheduled for an interview. 
  • A competition will not be scheduled for interview until the shortlisting pack has been returned to the Research Recruitment Officer.  
• Schedule the Interview: The requester will be offered a date for the interview, approximately three weeks prior to the interview date, to allow for the interview panel to be put in place and to give the required notice to candidates. (Candidates are not invited to interview until the interview panel has been confirmed).
  • Presently, once the competition is put in the queue to be scheduled for an interview, it takes approximately 1-2 months for the interviews to be held. This timeline is just an estimation, as it is dependent on many factors, including the number of competitions to be scheduled, Governing Body availability, etc. PI’s need to be aware of the timelines when submitting requests and to submit them as early as possible.

Any queries surrounding this process should be directed to Research Recruitment.

Please see E-recruitment User Guides & and the instructional video below. 

Core Portal Recruitment Process/E-Recruitment user guides 

Person Specification Form.docx

Principal Investigator - Research Centre User Guide March 2022.pdf

Principal Investigator - Research User Guide March 2022.pdf

Setting up your Funded Research Staff Member

Once the new research staff member commences, the HR Commencement Form for Funded Research Staff must be completed by the new employee in conjunction with the PI. This must be signed by the new employee, the PI, and the Head of Department and the original signed form sent to HR Profile Change. The staff member will be set up on the Core HR system and their monthly payments organised as indicated on the HR Commencement Form. Please note that it is the PI's responsibility to ensure the HR Commencement Form is completed in its entirety. Any changes to the new staff member's set-up, pay, or P-code thereafter must be submitted to HR Profile Change by using the ONLINE form here  https://www.cognitoforms.com/WIT8/EmployeeProfileChangeForm

HR Commencement Form Research Staff

Salary Increase Request form for Career Researchers

HR Contracts will issue a contract of employment once the offer has been accepted.

This phase includes all of the activities associated with managing the Research Project (both financial and non-financial). Non-financial project management activities relate to changes to existing contracts between the funding agency/sponsor, the PI and SETU.

During the lifetime of a research project, the funding agency/sponsor sets out a number of requirements in relation to both the finances of the project as well as the scientific programme. This includes the provision of regular reports to the funding agency/sponsor in relation to how the project is progressing, any changes to the work programme or schedule and financial reports on the expenditure incurred.

Any change, which is not provided for under the terms and conditions of the grant, must be approved by the funding agency/sponsor and central University authorities (i.e. Vice President for Research, Innovation & Graduate Studies and Research Finance). The following are examples of changes that may require approval:

• Start/end dates
• Budget transfers between funding categories (outside of the range permitted under the contract)
• Purpose/intention of funding
• Named Researcher responsible for grant

Please email [email protected] to notify the RSU of any of the changes above. A Project Alteration Form may need to be completed by Research Finance and submitted to the funding agency/sponsor.

The research grant and associated research agreement remains in place regardless of the mobility of the named PI. The approval of both the University and the funding agency/sponsor must be obtained before any portion of a research grant can be transferred from the University in the event that the PI leaves the University.

If the named PI's eligibility status changes before the completion of the research project, the Head of School must agree a path with the RSU who will in turn consult with the funding agency/sponsor to either continue the research by identifying an alternative PI, bring the current research activity to a close or move the research grant to another Institution.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Coordinator include:

• Agreements
• Audits and Record Keeping
• Financial Management
• Budget Amendments
• Timesheets
• Commercialisation of the Research
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Promotion of research (Dissemination and Communication)
• Open Research & SETU Waterford Research Repository
• Researcher Profiles

Project Management Resources

Keeping time sheets is strongly recommended, particularly for European projects, these should be retained in the event of an audit.

Time sheet sample for an Innovation Voucher

SETU General Time sheet Template 

At the conclusion of each project there must be a financial reconciliation between income from the funding agency/sponsor and the expenditure by the PI. Funding agency/sponsor also require research project technical reports to be completed both during the period of the project and on completion of the project.

This section describes the steps to be followed once a research project has been completed.

• Reporting
• Closing the Research Account
• Audits
• Publications