Revision of the ESSENCE Five Keys good practice document: Recipient (grantee) Survey
ABOUT ESSENCE ON HEALTH RESEARCH
ESSENCE on Health Research is an initiative that allows donors/funders to identify synergies, establish coherence and increase the value of resources and action for research, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Read more at  https://www.who.int/tdr/partnerships/essence/en/.

WHY THIS INITIATIVE, NOW?
The ESSENCE good practice document 'Five Keys to improving Research Costing in LMICs' (the Five Keys) (https://www.who.int/tdr/publications/year/2017/five_keys/en/) was published in 2012. However, the achievement of accurate costing that enables sustainable research institutions and programs remains a challenge for many LMICs. In addition, fast-changing, technologically-driven and competitive local and global environments for research, research funding, and research management necessitate ongoing reflection and learning. This project represents a vital opportunity for funders and research institutions to contribute to new good practices in research costing through sharing their practices and challenges, and to contribute to new good practices in LMICs.

PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY
• To gather information on the use and impact of the Five Keys good practice document and the related training materials.
• To gather new information on the research funding and the research costing and pricing practices of research institutions.
• To gather information on the research management (including grants and financial management) practices of research institutions.
• To gather information, from an institutional perspective, on what funders will fund.
• To understand, from an institutional perspective, the major changes in the research funding and research management environment since the publication of the Five Keys in 2012.

COMPLETING THE SURVEY  
The survey questions are structured under 5 headings. It should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete the survey. You can edit your response after you have submitted the survey by clicking on the 'Edit my response' button.

CONFIDENTIALITY  
Participation in this survey is voluntary. The information in this study will be used only for the revision of the ESSENCE good practice document on research costing. All responses will be treated as confidential and only anonymized, aggregated data will be published in the final report. Respondents will be consulted for consent should it be necessary to identify an individual/institution for the sharing of specific practices or experiences. During the project, the survey data will be kept in a password-protected database which only the project team can access. The database will be deleted on completion of the revised ESSENCE good practice document on research costing.

DEFINITIONS  
Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs):
Countries as per the classification of the World Bank.

Research costing:
Calculating the true cost of all the resources needed to undertake a piece of research and includes the direct and indirect /overhead costs.

Research pricing:
Research costing assists to determine the appropriate price for a piece of research. The price is what is request and ultimately granted by a funder. The price could, therefore, be different from the cost of the research.

Indirect costs:  
Costs that are not directly attributable to a piece of research, but nonetheless need to be paid for. It is sometimes also referred to as overhead costs.

Research management:
It embraces anything that research-focused organizations can do to maximize the growth and impact of the research portfolio. It can include the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of research related policies and strategies; research capacity development; facilitation and management of research partnerships and collaborations; identifying and disseminating research funding opportunities; supporting the development of funding proposals, including budgeting, costing and pricing; promoting and supporting research ethics and integrity, compliance and responsible research conduct; research contracts negotiation and management; research financial management; research project management; research data and information management; research dissemination, communication, uptake and innovation.

QUERIES
For any queries or technical issues related to the survey, please contact Dr. Karin Dyason, Project Coordinator at karin.dyason@signify.co.za

ESSENCE Secretariat: Dr. Garry Aslanyan, aslanyang@who.int 

Sign in to Google to save your progress. Learn more
(A) RESPONDENT AND INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION
Respondent first name: *
Respondent last name: *
Respondent title: *
If you selected 'Other', please specify
Respondent job title/ role: *
Institution name: *
Country: *
Institutional department/unit/functional area name: *
Institutional type: *
If you selected 'Other', please specify
Contactable email address: *
I am responding: *
(B) USE AND IMPACT OF THE FIVE KEYS GOOD PRACTICE DOCUMENT AND TRAINING MATERIALS
The Five Keys good practice document/training materials have been USED FOR CAPACITY BUILDING OR TRAINING INTERVENTIONS:
Yes
No
Was not aware of this resource
By my institution
By my department/ unit/ functional area
By myself
Clear selection
If you selected 'No', please (if possible) provide a reason(s)
The Five Keys good practice document/training materials have been USED FOR GUIDANCE ON RESEARCH COSTING AND PRICING:
Yes
No
Was not aware of this resource
By my institution
By my department/ unit/ functional area
By myself
Clear selection
If you selected 'No', please (if possible) provide a reason(s)
The Five Keys good practice document/training materials have IMPROVED THE RESEARCH COSTING AND PRICING PRACTICES:
Yes
No
Was not aware of this resource
At my institution
At my department/ unit/ functional area
For myself
Clear selection
If you selected 'No', please (if possible) provide a reason(s)
The Five Keys good practice document/training materials have been ADOPTED AS PART OF THE POLICY OR PROCEDURE for research costing and pricing:
Yes
No
Was not aware of this resource
By the institution
By the department/ unit/ functional area
Clear selection
If you selected 'No', please (if possible) provide a reason(s)
Which aspect(s) of research costing and pricing, if covered in the updated document, will be of interest to your institution?
Do you have any further suggestions for the review of the Five Keys good practice document?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes', please provide details
Additional comments (optional)
(C) RESEARCH FUNDING AND RESEARCH COSTING AND PRICING PRACTICES
In your view, what are the key requirements for institutional research sustainability? (Please list up to 4)
What was the TOTAL RESEARCH INCOME of your institution over the past 3-5 years? (please list e.g. 2014= ; 2015= ; 2016 = ; 2017= ; 2018=)
What was the TOTAL RESEARCH EXPENDITURE of your institution over the past 3-5 years? (please list e.g. 2014= ; 2015= ; 2016 = ; 2017= ; 2018=)
Where does your institution get its research funding from? (across all fields of research)
Most funding
Some funding
Little funding
No funding
National government sources
National not-for-profit organizations
National for-profit businesses
Institutional budget
Foreign government agencies (e.g. DFID, NOW, Sida, USAID)
Foreign not-for-profit organizations (e.g. charities, foundations)
Foreign for-profit businesses (e.g. pharmaceutical companies, small and medium enterprises)
Other
Clear selection
If you selected 'Other', please specify
Who is your major funder(s) and what was the TOTAL INCOME from this funder(s)? (2016= ; 2017=; 2018=)
The total budget of grants that your institution/department/unit/functional area receive GENERALLY includes:
Yes
No
Not applicable
Salaries (investigators)
Salaries (support personnel)
Allowances (investigators)
Allowances (support personnel)
Direct expenses
Indirect expenses/overheads
Depreciation costs
Clear selection
Additional comments (optional)
Which funding categories are GENERALLY underfunded through RESEARCH grants
Seriously underfunded
Substantially underfunded
Slightly underfunded
Not underfunded
Not applicable
Allowances
Branding
Community and public engagement
Data management plans
Depreciation costs
Dissemination
Educational tools
Ethics reviews
Equipment
Grant compliance e.g. audit fees
Infrastructure
Legal fees
Management fees
Maintenance
Meetings / Conferences
Open access publication fees
Partnership support / evaluation
Post-implementation reviews
Procurement
Project planning / organization costs
Rent
Research management (including grants and financial management)
Salaries
Specific studies on gender
Subscriptions and publication fees
Supplies
Training of employees (pre-implementation)
Training on gender dimensions
Travel (international)
Travel (domestic)
Utilities
Vehicles
Other
Clear selection
If you selected 'Other', please specify
Additional comments (optional)
Which funding categories are GENERALLY underfunded through CAPACITY STRENGTHENING/TRAINING grants
Seriously underfunded
Substantially underfunded
Slightly underfunded
Not underfunded
Not applicable
Allowances
Branding
Community and public engagement
Data management plans
Depreciation costs
Dissemination
Educational tools
Ethics reviews
Equipment
Grant compliance e.g. audit fees
Infrastructure
Legal fees
Management fees
Maintenance
Meetings / Conferences
Open access publication fees
Partnership support / evaluation
Post-implementation reviews
Procurement
Project planning / organization costs
Rent
Research management (including grants and financial management)
Salaries
Specific studies on gender
Subscriptions and publication fees
Supplies
Training of employees (pre-implementation)
Training on gender dimensions
Travel (international)
Travel (domestic)
Utilities
Vehicles
Other
Clear selection
If you selected 'Other', please specify
Please indicate what you perceive as seriously, substantially and slightly underfunded (funder covers less than a certain percentage of the total cost):
<10%
<20%
<30%
<40%
<50%
<60%
<70%
<80%
<90%
Seriously underfunded
Substantially underfunded
Slightly underfunded
Clear selection
Does your institution have an annual external financial audit?
Clear selection
Do you have an indirect cost /overhead rate policy?
If you selected 'Yes' for any of the options, please indicate what the main driver for the development of this policy was
Do you have a calculated indirect cost/overhead rate?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Other', please specify
Do you have different institutional/departmental/unit/functional area indirect cost/overhead rates for on-site and off-site research?
Clear selection
What is the current indirect cost/overhead rate for research on-site, off-site or both (if applicable)?
What methodology was used to determine this indirect cost/overhead rate (if applicable)?
What in your view are the key requirement for accurately calculating indirect cost /overhead rates? (Please list)
Briefly explain why it is important for your institution/department/unit/functional area to recover indirect costs from grants (if applicable)?
Researchers generally understand why the institution/department/unit/functional area has to recover indirect costs /overheads
Clear selection
Additional comments (optional)
Does your institution/department/unit/functional area require internal approval of grant applications when a funder does not cover the indirect cost/overhead rate set by the institution/department/unit/functional area?
Clear selection
Does your institution/department/unit/functional area have a policy /guidelines on the distribution of recovered indirect/overhead costs?
Clear selection
Additional comments (optional)
Do you sometimes negotiate indirect cost/ overhead rates with your funders?
Clear selection
If you responded 'Yes' to any of the options in the previous question, please indicate how important each of the following is for the negotiation process:
Very important
Important
Slightly important
Not important
I don't know
Knowing the institutional financial structure and costs
Having professional support staff at the institution that can negotiate on behalf of the researcher
Strategy for recovering the full and real cost of research at the institution
Being audited on an annual basis
Other
Clear selection
If you selected 'Other', please specify
Have you observed significant changes in the research funding environment over the past few years?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes', please list the changes that you observed
What are currently your institutions 3 major challenges regarding research funding (Please list)?
Have you noticed a change in funder’s practices regarding the funding of indirect costs/overheads over the past few years?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes', please provide details
Were there significant changes in the way that your institution/department/unit/functional area approaches indirect cost/overheads over the past few years?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes', please explain briefly
Are there specific areas related to research costing and pricing that your institution finds particularly challenging currently?
Clear selection
If 'Yes', please provide details
In your view, can funders do more to harmonize /coordinate their funding policies and practices?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes', please provide details
Additional comments on Section C (optional)
(D) INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH MANAGEMENT (INCLUDING GRANTS AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT) PRACTICES
We have a research management service/equivalent with dedicated research management staff
Clear selection
If you have a research management service/equivalent which functions are generally performed by this service/equivalent?
Yes
No
I am not sure
Research policy and strategy development and implementation
Research training and capacity development
Research portfolio management
Research data and information management
Research funding support (e.g. identifying and disseminating sources)
Grant proposal development and approval
Grants and financial management
Research collaboration and partnership management
Research ethics and integrity management
Research uptake and innovation (e.g. research communication, measure and articulate research impact, technology transfer etc.)
Clear selection
Please list any functions performed by your research management service/equivalent that are not listed above (if applicable)
I have observed significant changes in the research management service/equivalent over the past few years?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes' for any of the options, please provide details
How is this research management service/equivalent funded?
How is research management (or components thereof) generally funded through your research grants?
Have you noticed a change in funders practices regarding the funding of research management or components thereof over the past few years?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes', please provide details
Can funders better support you to establish/grow/sustain a research management function
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes', please explain how funders can support this better
Additional comments (optional)
Funders generally communicate
Clear selection
Additional comments (optional)
We have a standard operating procedure for the approval of grant applications before it is submitted to a funder
Clear selection
My institution/department/unit/functional area has a grants management system that can (select all relevant options)
If possible, please indicate which system you are using
My institution/department/unit/functional area have tools (e.g. budget templates/sheets, software) to assist researchers with budget development?
Clear selection
My institution/department/unit/functional area:
Additional comments (optional)
(E) GENERAL
The revised research costing good practice document will include a number of case studies where funders and recipient (grantee) institutions will share their research costing practices. Would your institution/department/unit/functional area be willing to participate in a case study?
Clear selection
Are there any of your funders that made (e.g. through a funding scheme) a substantial contribution to the development of research costing practices or research management practices at your institution?
Clear selection
If you selected 'Yes', please provide brief details, including the name of the funder
In your view what would be the most useful mode of dissemination of the updated research costing good practice document?
I am willing to share our policy/guidelines on indirect costs/overheads with the project team
Clear selection
Please provide any additional comments or input that can benefit the project
Submit
Clear form
Never submit passwords through Google Forms.
This content is neither created nor endorsed by Google. Report Abuse - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy
Google Forms