Glossary of Terms

Term

Meaning

Collaboration Agreement

This is an agreement between multiple parties that sets out the arrangements for the management and coordination of the project, responsibilities (including funding) and liabilities of the partners, IP arrangements, reporting and publication arrangements, access to results and confidentiality provisions and consequences of termination or default and ways of handling disputes.

SRF (Staffing Request form)

This is a form to be completed to start any recruitment activity

FEC (Full Economic Cost)

This is the full cost to the University of undertaking the activity. Included are all direct and indirect costs such as space, central services, depreciation and a contribution to investment in the University's infrastructure. Research Councils will pay 80% of fEC whereas Government department research schemes should fund at 100% fEC, although some such as NIHR and Innovate will only pay 80%. More information can be found here

MTA (Material Transfer Agreement)

A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a legally binding contract which is required if you intend to transfer tangible research materials between two organisations. An MTA ensures that the provider of the materials is recognised as the legal owner and that the intellectual property rights of both parties are protected. Examples of materials which may require an agreement are: biological materials, cultures, anti-bodies, chemical compounds and even some types of software.

NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement, is a legally binding contract in which one party agrees to give a second party confidential information about its business or products and the second party agrees not to share this information with anyone else for a specified period of time.

PI (Principal Investigator)

This is the project lead from the University of Reading

FES (Final Expenditure Statement)

This is a mandatory statement that is to be provided on all UKRI funded grants to show how the funds have been spent on the grant and how much has been spent. Research Accounts will create and submit this for you

Co-I (Co-Investigator)

This is usually someone either at the University of Reading or a project partner institution (the lead at a project partner institution)