University and sponsor guidelines

Most sponsors have guidance and rules determining how funds can be spent during the research period. In most cases, the research will follow the course as laid out in the application but, from time to time, the Principal Investigator will need to make alterations to this plan. If you have any queries about your grant guidelines, please contact us.

Extend research period and finish later than originally planned

A "no-cost extension" is usually possible as long as the costs of the project do not exceed the budget. A typical no-cost extension might provide an extra one to three months to complete the work.

The Principal Investigator should give us as much warning as possible and provide a written account of why the extension is necessary. We will then contact the sponsor to officially request the extension and, if successful, will reissue the award announcement with the revised details.

Transfer funds from one budget category to another

Each sponsor has a different set of rules regarding transfer of budgets from one category to another. Research councils permit transfer of funds between "Directly Incurred" budget lines only at the rate set out in their offer letter. If your research is not sponsored by a research council, you should check the terms and conditions of your award before transferring funds from one budget line to another.

Request more funding from your sponsor

If further funding is necessary to complete the research or explore new lines of enquiry generated by the original research, the Principal Investigator should contact us for help in profiling the costs for the application.

If successful, the sponsor will inform us or the Principal Investigator and a new or revised award announcement will be issued, giving details of the new funding, budgets and duration of the project.

Leaving the University of Essex

Please contact us and we'll contact the sponsor on your behalf. We will prepare a report and claim for the sponsor to recover the money spent so far. The remaining balance will transfer to your new institution for you to complete the outstanding research.

Sponsor guidelines