Central institutional match funding for grant applications
This webpage is for non-capital match funding, if you require match funding for equipment, please go to the Equipment funding webpage
Principles
It should be noted that most funders and funding schemes do not require match funding.
At the University of Leeds there is no automatic commitment to match fund bids.
All requests for central institutional match funding need to be fully justified as follows:
- Evidence of explicit or implicit criteria in the call or scheme guidance that institutional contributions are required.
- Examples of grant applications where match funding would normally be provided include Centres for Doctoral Training, ESRC Research Centres, BBSRC sLoLas and EPSRC Programme Grants.
- Demonstration that the call generates sufficient margin to justify the level of institutional contribution; unless otherwise stated in the call, match funding should not normally exceed 10% of the total value of the grant.
- It should be noted that 10% is not a target. All match funding should be tailored to the project and fully justified.
It is normally expected that central funding contributions will be matched on a 50:50 basis with faculty contributions.
Requests for central institutional match
A formal request for University-level commitment should be made using the Business Case template. Applicants should also provide a draft Letter of Support (template). Completed Business Cases and draft Letters of Support should be submitted to: r-idevelopment@leeds.ac.uk at least 15 working days (three weeks) before the submission deadline. We regret that requests submitted at short notice may not be considered.
PIs are encouraged to discuss match funding with colleagues in RIS as early as possible in the bid development process, preferably with an appropriate RIDM or RDM. Contact: r-idevelopment@leeds.ac.uk for advice.
Decision-making
Decisions will be made taking into account the strategic priority of the request within the context of available budgets.
Business cases for central institutional match
Business cases should clearly demonstrate:
- The need for match funding (evidence of explicit or implicit criteria in the call or scheme guidance that institutional contributions are required).
- How central institutional match funding will be used / what it will be spent on, and how this will enhance the project.
- The ratio of internal investment to award value e.g. £10,000 of University commitment will leverage £100,000 of external income.
- Alignment with existing investments.
- Fit to faculty and University Strategy.
- Approval from Executive Dean for faculty-level contributions (sign-off by Faculty Head of Finance or equivalent).