TRAC requirements for staff data: Staff full time equivalent (FTE) and headcount data should be representative of the FTE for the year as a whole and agree with those held on the human resources system, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Staff record, or the numbers reported in the consolidated financial statements at institutional level. * The academic staff FTE and headcount included in the TRAC model should be those that consume and therefore drive the costs. Adjustments should be made for long term absence material at academic department level. * Postgraduate Research Student (PGR) FTEs should be weighted by 0.2 when included in the indirect cost rate, 0.8 for laboratory estate rates and 0.5 for non-laboratory estates rates. * TRAC requirements for student data: Student FTE and headcount data should materially agree with those held on the student records system or the HESA Student record. The student FTE and headcount included should be those that consume and therefore drive the costs (including the further education or overseas campus FTE if material). TRAC requirements for time allocation methods: Academic and research staff time should be attributed directly to a core TRAC activity (as defined in section 1.3) where possible. Institutions should ensure that double-counting does not arise as a result of staff that are directly allocated to a TRAC category also having all of their time allocated through the time allocation system (3.1.4.18). All academic staff not directly allocated to a single TRAC activity should be included in the time allocation process. For institutions claiming dispensation a robust method is not required, so Head of Department estimates can be used to allocate staff time between the TRAC categories (detailed in section 1.3). Time data collected through academic survey or workload planning should follow TRAC activity definitions detailed in section 1.3, should be collected at research sponsor and should only reflect the time being managed by the institution. This is irrespective of any ‘standard’ or ‘contracted’ working week, but should exclude ‘normal’ periods of holiday, sickness and other leave. Clear instructions and definitions should accompany the time allocation forms. Where different activity definitions and categories of time are used in workload planning models, these should be mapped appropriately to the required TRAC categories and definitions. * Reasonableness of time allocation data should be ensured by a review of the results by the Head of Department (academic department). *
4.2 Research charge-out rates The aim is to calculate charge-out rates for indirect costs, estates costs, laboratory technician support and facility access, for use in costing research projects being funded by the Research Councils and other sponsors. For institutions claiming dispensation, the indirect and estates cost rates to be applied are the dispensation rates published annually by RCUK. Research facility and laboratory technician infrastructure rates are unlikely to be applicable to institutions claiming dispensation and their use is not permitted. 4.2.4 The requirements There should be a clear cut-off date and process that ensures that the updated rates replace the previous rates and are applied to project applications no earlier than 1 February of each year, and no later than six months after this date. TRAC requirements for the indirect cost charge-out rate: A Research indirect cost charge-out rate should be calculated each year as a rate per research academic staff FTE. The costs in the numerator of the Research indirect cost charge-out rate should agree with the indirect cost pool in the TRAC model, less a deduction for a proportion of any income received from the Apprenticeship Service Account that is attributable to the proportion of staff costs that have been allocated to Research. Note: This only applies where the institution is on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers. The denominator of the Research indirect cost charge-out rate comprises: academic time (FTE) attributable to research (not weighted for salaries); postgraduate researchers (FTE) (weighted by 0.2); research assistants and fellows (FTE); temporary research FTE; visiting research academics FTE; and clinicians FTE (where material and appropriate to be included). TRAC requirements for the estates cost charge-out rates: Two Research estates cost charge-out rates (for laboratory and academic departments as defined by the institution) are calculated each year as a rate per research academic staff FTE. If no laboratory (or non-laboratory) academic departments exist within an institution, separate estates rates need not be calculated. The costs in the numerator of the Research estates charge-out rates should agree with the Research element of the estates cost pool in the