Research

Accepting funding

A focus on research of an international quality and the fostering of an outstanding research culture have positioned UWA as one of the best universities in Australia and in the top 150 in the world.

Graduate Research and Scholarships Office

Grants, fellowships or travel grants awarded to postgraduate students are administered through the Research Grants Office.

The academic requirements of postgraduates, however, are administered by the Graduate Research School and Scholarships Office.

Now that you've gained a grant, there are some tasks you need to undertake.

Please note, that if you have been contacted directly by the funding body, the Research Grants Office should be notified of your success (acceptance of offer).

  1. Acceptance of offer
  2. Lodgement of acceptances
  3. Who signs the funding body acceptance of offer form
  4. Ethics and biosafety clearances
  5. Intellectual property, publications and confidentiality

Acceptance of offer

Although an offer will normally refer to a Chief Investigator and a specific project, the research is undertaken in the name of UWA, and UWA assumes legal responsibility. When a proposal becomes successful an offer is made to the University and the University is often required to enter into a formal agreement with the funding agency.

Students and staff, including Heads of School, do not have authority to accept research grants or postdoctoral fellowships, or to accept conditions of award on behalf of the University. In many cases, funding agencies require Chief Investigators and Heads of School to sign the funding agency's acceptance of offer form, but those signatures alone do not constitute a formal acceptance of responsibility by the University.

The funding agency's offer form and any agreement or contract must be sent to the Research Grants Office in all cases, together with an Acceptance of Offer.

Having read the conditions of the award, the researcher should now complete and sign an Acceptance of Offer:

The signed form provides the Research Grants Office with confirmation of the following:

  • the Chief Investigator/Head of School's commitment to adhere to the conditions of the award
  • the agreement to the apportionment between two or more schools where there is collaboration, so that the proportions are taken into account when the research component of the University's budget allocation to faculties is calculated
  • details for entry into the research grants management database

When completing the Acceptance of Offer form, Chief Investigators are required to state whether all clearances for matters such as animal welfare, human ethics and biosafety issues, etc have been obtained. Funds will not be released until relevant ethics approvals have been obtained.

If an Application Cover Sheet has not been provided to the UWA Research Grants Office at the time of lodgement of the application to the funding body an Application Cover Sheet must now be completed together with the Acceptance of Offer.

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Lodgement of acceptances

Receipt of the completed, signed acceptance of offer form in the Research Grants Office indicates that the researcher has read and accepts the conditions of award. The form should be forwarded to the Research Grants Office in a timely fashion along with any accompanying documentation, which could include:

  • ethics clearances
  • notification from the funding body of award
  • contract
  • correspondence
  • conditions of award
  • funding body acceptance of offer.

Researchers are advised to retain a copy of the conditions of award as well as a copy of the Acceptance of Offer form.

Details of the award will be sent to the Marketing and Communications for future publication in UWA News if the researcher has agreed to this on the Acceptance of Offer form.

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Who signs the funding body acceptance of offer form

It is imperative that all researchers read any conditions of award regarding the grant.

The Research Grants Office organises the signing of all agreements between funding bodies and the University.

Researchers, Heads of Schools, Deans and the like are not permitted to sign contracts or agreements on behalf of UWA. Researchers should never enter or sign an agreement or contractual obligation without consulting the Research Grants Office.

In some cases, intellectual property rights, legal liabilities or financial arrangements may need to be negotiated; this should be done by the Research Grants Office in consultation with the researcher.

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Ethics and biosafety clearances

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