1. This form should be filled in for all research projects, whether supported internally or funded externally.
2. For externally funded projects, this form should be filled in after the sponsor has approved the budget estimate and agreed to a payment schedule. A copy of the letter of agreement between the client and the institute should be attached with this form.
3. Along with this form, a copy of the research proposal should be attached and sent to the Director for approval. Individual researchers should first discuss their proposed research activities with the Head of the Division/Director before negotiating with the client.
4. In costing the project, a clear distinction must be made between recurrent and overhead costs.
Recurrent costs should include running costs of a research programme, covering salaries of research and support personnel; cost of field experiments, including wages payable to farm labour; cost of consumables; etc. In some cases, costs may be difficult because of difficulty in assigning true values. Care should be exercised to include expected escalation in costs so that the project does not suffer for want of funds. Cost of capital equipment should be based on market price and include expected escalation.Overhead costs should cover real or notional rental figures for office and laboratory accommodation, land use for experimental purposes, central administrative costs apportioned over different projects, and staff-related costs such as pensions or superannuation contributions. Care should be taken to ensure that overhead costs are not unnecessarily inflated.
For all internally funded projects, overhead costs are notional and need not be indicated. However, these have to be recovered in all externally funded projects and should be charged at a flat rate of 20% of the total cost (including the cost of field experiments and wages payable to the field labour). The overhead charges will also cover postage, electricity and transport. These should not be charged separately wherever overhead charges are levied.
5. It is understood that the dates of commencement and completion, as well as the budget estimates, are approximate. However, if substantial departure occurs from the date furnished or the cost indicated, the project leader should inform the Director about such changes.
6. Since salaries of scientists and support staff vary by grade and seniority, grade average salaries can be used for research workers of differing status. Costing for time should be done on the basis of a scientist-year equivalent when measuring the actual time to be apportioned to a particular project. Staff holidays, attendance at scientific conferences and time spent on writing scientific papers should be charged as direct salary costs and not overheads. However, it would be desirable to spread these costs pro rala across all projects in which a particular scientist is involved. At the same time, the time spent by the scientist on administrative, managerial or regular activities should be allocated either to the department concerned or to institute overheads. It should be noted that time so spent would be proportionally much greater for senior scientists responsible for management and administration.
7. For externally funded projects, it is desirable to ask the client to pay the institute at least one-half of the cost of the project when it is approved. The balance can be paid as two or three instalments, on the basis of mutual agreement. All payments in connections with the project should be made payable to the institute.
8. The accounts office shall maintain all accounts. They will receive payment from the sponsors wherever applicable and make all payments.
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This training manual has been prepared as basic reference material to help national research trainers structure and conduct training courses on research management at the institute level. It is intended primarily for managers of agricultural research institutes in developing countries and for institutions of higher education interested in presenting in-service training courses on research management. The manual consists of ten modules, each addressing major management functions including motivation, leadership, direction, priority setting, communications and delegation. The four structural functions of management - planning, organization, monitoring and control, and evaluation - are covered in individual modules. The manual has been designed to support participatory learning through case-studies, group exercises and presentations by the participants. |
