Accepting and managing other Australian grants

The processes, resources and expectations around accepting and managing other Australian grants at the University of Melbourne

  • Outcomes and results

    Sponsors may contact Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (RIC) or the Chief Investigator (CI) with results of grant rounds. Research funds are legally awarded to the University and grants can only be formally accepted by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) or delegate.

    Contact RIC if you have received advice directly from a sponsor so that the acceptance process can commence. In the case of unsuccessful applications, RIC should be contacted so that the status of the Themis record can be updated.

  • Accepting the grant

    Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (RIC) will update the Themis proposal record, review the conditions of award/funding agreement and if conditions are acceptable, prepare a 'execution request form' (ERF) for the lead Chief Investigator and/or department to sign.

    A completed Research Costing and Pricing (RCPT) tool must be returned to RIC prior to contract execution. RIC will determine if a General Ledger project code (GL) is required to manage the project finances. Even if the project does not meet the criteria for general ledger (GL) creation, RIC will recommend a budget form is provided for all grants using the operating categories: 00000, 00010 and 00020 as this assists with the yearly budgeting process.

  • Creating a Themis agreement record

    When the Chief Investigator or department have returned the acceptance paperwork to Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (RIC), RIC will accept the funding formally on behalf of the University.

    RIC will create a Themis agreement record and will contact Finance and Employee Services to create the general ledger project code (if applicable) and enter the budget and deliverables. The Themis record will list an 'agreement administrator' who will act as an administrative contact in the department and the first point of contact for management of the funding.

  • Managing expenditure and changes to projects

    All funds must be spent in accordance with the conditions of award/funding agreement. University of Melbourne chief investigators and agreement administrators are able to view grant details by logging into Themis research self service (agreements workbench).  A copy of the letter of offer, conditions of award/funding agreement will be attached to the record. Chief Investigators can also check the account balance.

  • Variations and changing project circumstances

    Depending on the conditions of award, approval may need to be sought from the sponsor if project circumstances change. Please refer the award documentation, or contact the relevant grants team within Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (RIC) for advice.

    Changes to Themis agreement records which do not require sponsor approval, can be requested by filling in the appropriate 'Themis agreement form'.

  • Reporting

    Technical (progress/final reports) and financial deliverables (invoicing, acquittals) are entered into Themis agreements. Themis will generate an email reminder to the first-named chief investigator or the agreement administrator in the department two weeks before a deliverable is due.

    Progress and final reports for non ARC/NHMRC schemes can be submitted directly to the sponsor, unless a signature is required from an authorised officer.

    Some sponsors require financial reports to be submitted at the same time as the technical report. In these cases, the agreement administrator and/or Finance and Employee Services may be required to provide information before progress the report should be submitted.