We have had quite a few enquiries asking for help to provide costs for fusion fund applications. It is expected that applicants will calculate costs themselves. Please note that costings are not handled by RKE Ops as only external funding applications are processed by this team. In the main, fusion applications involve travel and subsistence costs which can be calculated by staff drawing on standard guidance. In the case that an applicant is being bought out of their current post or hiring a new member of staff for a project your Director of Operations within your school should be able to provide guidance on identifying costs. We encourage applicants to be as realistic as possible with regards to costings because any changes to approved projects, including costs during the lifecycle of the project, would need to be approve by Matthew Bennett.
In the event of any queries please contact Natalie Baines, Fusion Investment Fund administrator.
There’s also more information about the different strands of the Fund on the Staff Intranet pages.
When I calculated the costs for my Fusion Fund bid, I tried to keep them as low as possible, but I recommend that you follow Natalie’s advice and be as realistic as possible. For example, I based my bid on relatively cheap air fares to Australia and the South Pacific, but when the agent the University uses was asked to book the flights for me, its prices were substantially higher. Luckily I was able to recoup the additional cost from other aspects of my bid and still came in under budget, but your bid may not be so flexible.