Faculty of Humanities Guidelines for Researchers Intending to Apply for External Funding

These guidelines have been prepared with a view to assist the researchers based in the Faculty of Humanities intending to apply for external (grant or contract) funding for their research and research-related projects. It needs to be read in conjunction with UCT’s Policy for Costing and Pricing of Research and Research-Related Contracts. Applicants are expected to familiarize themselves thoroughly with these provisions prior to application.

Step 1:

Notification of Intention and Drawing up a Draft Research Budget

  • Staff members intending to apply for external (grant or contract) funding for their research and research-related projects are advised to notify the Senior Finance Officer in the Faculty of Humanities in writing as soon as they decide to apply, indicating the funding body, project title, and anticipated submission date. Emails: nolene.bruintjies@uct.ac.za; HumFinance-Research-group@uct.ac.za.

  • The draft research budget must be submitted to the Faculty Finance Office at least 2 weeks prior to the funder’s deadline, to allow sufficient time for review and institutional approval. An exception applies to all Wellcome Trust applications, for which the Faculty Finance Office requires the draft budget to be submitted at least one month prior to Wellcome’s formal deadline. (For the Wellcome Trust applications, the International Grants office communicates the internal due dates). Please note that UCT Research Contracts and Innovation (RC&I) requires at least 5 working days prior to the funder’s deadline.

  • Allow sufficient time to prepare the draft budget. 

  • Set out the project goals, tasks and timelines. 

  • List all the tasks required to conduct the project. 

  • List the corresponding resources required for each task (e.g., equipment, travel, research events, research assistance, fieldwork, etc)

  • List all members of staff who will be involved in the project. Confirm their title and the percentage of their time required on the project. Indicate if the staff appointed for this project are current GOB or non-GOB employees.

  • Always include an administrator/ project manager/ project assistant who will assist with completing forms, planning events, getting travel quotes, following up with the servicing departments such as Faculty Finance, Procurements, etc. (as SAP Access, purchasing and PCard Management will be required to manage the project). Indicate if the staff appointed for this project are current GOB or non-GOB employees.

  • Closely review the funder’s guidelines regarding eligible and ineligible costs.

  • Include a ‘contingency’ category. We advise at least 10% of the Direct Costs. 

  • Since each expense item is thoroughly scrutinised, it is good practice to prepare a brief statement explaining the expenses.

Step 2:

Ethical Clearance and Budget Review

  • The Faculty Finance Office assigns a Faculty Budget Reviewer to the project who liaises with the Principal Investigator (PI).

  • PI submits proposal to Faculty Research Ethics Committee (nabeelah.regal@uct.ac.za) for ethical clearance if human subjects are involved.

  • PI and the designated Budget Reviewer schedules meetings to discuss funder’s rules, eligible and non-eligible costs, cost recovery, Intellectual Property Rights, staff costs, etc.

  • The PI finalizes budget with inputs and assistance from Faculty Finance, balancing the UCT requirements with the Funder’s guidelines, to ensure that:

    • All Direct Costs (i.e., costs directly incurred by the project as well as the allocable cost of support provided to the project by the hosting Department or Faculty, e.g., staff costs and other project-attributable costs) are included.

    • Indirect Costs (i.e., central costs required to support research in the institution that cannot easily or cost effectively be allocated directly to individual projects, e.g., overheads, facilities and administration costs, research management and support costs, non-project attributable costs) are applied in line with UCT’s Indirect Cost Policy.

    • If required, budget concerns (including concerns about IP ownership, possibility of reduced percentage of cost recovery etc) are discussed with the Faculty Finance Approver and the Final Faculty Approver. [Please understand that as a rule the Faculty upholds the standard UCT policy to cost all externally funded research projects based on full direct and indirect costs. When UCT receives less funding than required, the project has to be cross-subsidized from other sources, potentially affecting current or future projects and the University’s financial sustainability. To ensure that research can continue safely, responsibly, and effectively, it is essential that UCT recovers the maximum possible indirect costs from grants. Therefore, requests to waive costs require a compelling justification to mitigate financial risks and are seldom approved by the Faculty.]

    • Budget reviewer applies the information to the UCT Standard Costing Template.

    • Confirm that the full cost of the project has been calculated before finalising the price.

Step 3:

eRA Application Process

Once the budget is agreed upon:

  • The PI initiates the application on UCT’s electronic Research Administration (eRA) system.

  • The budget reviewer provides a 1-page guidance document to assist. Visit the eRA website if additional assistance is required. 

  • The budget reviewer applies the financial information on eRA and returns the file to the PI for final review.

  • Once satisfied, the PI forwards the file to the Faculty Finance Approver.

  • The Faculty Finance Approver checks and forwards the file to the Final Faculty Approver (the Dean or the Deputy Dean of Research).

  • If approved, the final faculty approver submits the application to Research Contracts & Innovation (RC&I).

Step 4:

Finalising Contract

  • Once the proposal is accepted by the Funder, they may send a draft contract to UCT RC&I for review or require a new contract to be drafted.

  • Drafts and requests for drafting should be submitted to RC&I via eRA. PI should indicate their pre-award eRA number.

  • A Contracts Manager is assigned by RC&I who reviews the agreement and negotiates necessary changes or drafts a new agreement. The PI should share with the Faculty Finance Office the contract manager’s name & email address, quoting the project title and the UCT Reference number (UCT000XXXX) in the subject line.

  • RC&I uploads the final agreement on eRA, once approved and authorised by all relevant parties.

  • Considering all information, the contracts manager initiates a fund to be opened.

Step 5:

Post-Award Fund Creation

  • Research administration staff initiate the FM003a on eRA.

  • The Faculty Finance Office reviews and approves the request, allocates a fund number, and forwards the file to Ledgers for processing.

  • Once the fund is opened, the PI and relevant research/faculty admin staff (tagged in Pre-Award) are notified.

Step 6:

Invoicing

  • Research admin staff complete the SD006, attaching the letter of liability from the funder (authorising UCT to invoice), and upload it to eRA.

  • The Faculty Finance Office reviews and approves the request, forwarding it to the Debtors Department.

  • The Debtors Department raises the invoice, which reflects in the project fund on SAP.

  • The invoice is emailed as per the instructions noted on the SD006 form.

  • Once payment is received from the funder, it clears the UCT invoice on SAP (advance payment).

Step 7:

Project Management

  • Monitor Business Object Reports

    • It is good practice to spend in line with the approved budget. Please monitor income received, spending and available balance.

    • The Faculty Finance Office schedules the Business Object (BOBJ) and Variance Reports according to the frequency confirmed by the PI for receiving them. Review these reports regularly. Keep track of income, expenses and balances in your project fund.

  • Monitor Budget Variance Reports

    • Administrator / the Faculty Finance Office runs these reports.

    • PI categorises expenses.

    • Request approval from the Funder for any amendments/deviations to/from the original budget.

  • Financial Reports

    • The Faculty Finance Office prepares draft report.

    • PI and the Faculty Finance Office discuss categorised expenses.

    • Report is reviewed and authorised by PI and Faculty Finance.

  • Timeous Management

    • Ensure that HR forms are completed timeously and submitted to the relevant authorities.

    • Inform the Funder at least 6 months in advance if you require a no-cost extension.

    • Instead of returning unspent funds, request approval for alternate uses of the remaining funds.

  • Research Finance Gate (RFG) system

    • The awarded projects are added to the new Research Finance Gate system, a web-based reporting and analytics tool designed to assist the PIs and the Finance staff in managing their Research Projects.

We wish you every success with your application. Please remember that the best approach is to establish contact with the Faculty Finance Office early, maintain regular communication, and adhere to all deadlines.

Last updated: November 2025.