About equipment requests for your research

If your grant proposal includes instrumentation with a value of over £10k you may need to request a university contribution. The proportion of the cost requested from the university will depend both on the funder you are applying to and the full cost of the instrument/equipment.

The first step is to check if the instrumentation you require for your project is already available elsewhere.

• search our equipment database to access over 1,700 items of shared equipment

• check availability regionally via the GW4 Alliance database

• consider modifying an existing instrument, or leasing equipment if this is a short-term need and would prove cheaper over the life of the project

If you are able to identify suitable existing equipment, contact the person/facility responsible to discuss whether sharing/access is possible, and how this access can be costed into your proposal.

If nothing suitable is available, it is important than you get accurate costings for the required equipment (inclusive of VAT and service costs). Ideally this will involve getting multiple quotes from different vendors. Don’t forget to also liaise with your Head of Department and technical teams to ensure that there is appropriate space, electrical and IT infrastructure, and technical expertise and capacity to support the instrument, if necessary. You must also complete the Procurement Planning Form.

Equipment below £10k

Single items of capital equipment, below £10k, are treated as consumables and should be recorded under ‘Other Directly Incurred’ costs in PAM.

Note that Research Councils are now less likely to fund small items such as PCs, unless they are non-standard, ‘high spec’ items and justified as having specific need for the research.

Equipment above £10k

Requests for single items of capital equipment over £10k, and which are not already available for use elsewhere, may require a commitment from the University or project partner to contribute a portion of the equipment cost. Expectations on level of contribution varies by funder and value of instrumentation, so check this carefully in the scheme guidance. For more expensive items you might also need to include a separate business case with further justifications, and possibly a higher university contribution. Please check the scheme guidance carefully.

You should also contact your Pre-Award Development Officer, your Research Development Manager, and Purchasing Services for guidance in preparing the business case and submitting it to the University and the funders.

Requesting a University contribution

The University has an internal process which must be completed when your costings have been finalised and before submission of the grant. This is to comply with expectations from the funders and manage requests for large contributions more effectively.

To request a university contribution, you will need to complete a form which includes details of the grant itself and the instrumentation being costed on the grant. Please email: rif@bath.ac.uk for further details. Please ensure that you submit the request form at least three weeks prior to the submission deadline.

Important notes

• As well as the basic cost of the equipment, UKRI advises that 'Capital costs plus any maintenance and other related costs that are not included in the Research Organisation's estates costs should be included.'
• All grant bodies require equipment purchases over £10k to go through the correct University purchasing procedure, and equipment purchases over the threshold must go through the purchasing procedure as stipulated in European law - see the Quick Guide to Purchasing Equipment or contact the Procurement Team on Procurement@bath.ac.uk
  
• Orders cannot be split or broken down to avoid the thresholds
  
• UKRI states that 'For all equipment costing more than £25k (including VAT), professionally qualified procurement staff at the University of Bath must be consulted at the beginning of the procurement process and must approve the order before it is placed with the supplier. Additional documentary evidence for the estimated cost (e.g., supplier's written quote, specialist advice) should be included.'
• UKRI rules do not affect equipment over £10k for instrument development and will attract 100% funding
• Leasing equipment is counted as a capital cost and therefore the same rules and procedures apply
• The OJEU limit is reviewed biennially