Accepting and managing internal grants and fellowships

Post Award Obligations and Support

Successful applicants are responsible for complying with the conditions of their award throughout the life of the project or fellowship. This includes managing funding appropriately, meeting reporting requirements, seeking approval for variations where required, and ensuring project information remains current. To support award holders, the Researcher Development Schemes (RDS) team provides guidance on grant management, reporting, project variations, fellowship administration and other post-award requirements. Before seeking assistance, please consult EDGAR, the Researcher Development Schemes team's self-service chatbot, for guidance on common post-award matters. If your query requires further assistance or University action, please submit a request via the Research Helpline – General Enquiries form.

  • The process for advising grant applicants of outcomes varies for each internal scheme. In most cases, applicants will be advised directly by the Researcher Development Schemes (RDS) team. However, in some instances, applicants may be notified by their faculty or a partner institution. Please be aware that the University reserves the right to extend the advertised dates for outcome announcements.

    For successful applicants, the requirements and documentation needed to accept funding also vary from scheme to scheme. We will send instructions when you are notified of your application's success. If you are not regularly checking your email during the period when outcomes are expected, please ensure you advise RDS of a nominated person to receive your outcome notification and accept on your behalf.

    If you have been asked to complete a Collaboration Summary as part of your award, please consult this FAQs sheet for further information.

    You can also submit any questions relating to reporting or any other post-award matters via the Research Helpline General Enquiries Form.

    For questions relating to award acceptance, reporting requirements, project management or other post-award matters, please first consult EDGAR, the Researcher Development Schemes team's self-service chatbot. If further assistance is required, submit a request through the Research Helpline General Enquiries Form.

  • Post-Award Finance Support

    All funds must be spent in accordance with the conditions of the award or funding agreement. University of Melbourne  Chief Investigators can view financial data and check account balances by accessing their Workday project record.

    For financial management questions, please get in touch with the Post-Award Finance Support (PAFS) / Research Finance Partnering team. You can reach your PAFS representative directly or use the ServiceNow Form.

    For guidance on internal funding scheme requirements, allowable expenditure, reporting obligations, and other post-award matters, please first consult EDGAR, the Researcher Development Schemes team's self-service chatbot. If further assistance is required, submit a request through the Research Helpline – General Enquiries form.

  • Variations occur when the original project agreement for a successful grant needs modification.

    For instance, personnel may withdraw, you may experience delays that prevent timely completion of project milestones, or you cannot  expend funds within the original award period. Major budget changes, such as shifting funding amounts between budget categories or funding items not originally included in the budget, must be approved via a variation form.

    Examples where a variation is required:

    • Repurposing unused travel funding for experiments
    • Using savings from workshop catering to fund additional RA hours
    • Changing host Faculty or Department
    • Essential fieldwork is no longer possible
    • Original proposed methodology does not work as anticipated
    • You cannot access critical data or participants

    To discuss a variation to the conditions of an internal award, please first consult EDGAR, the Researcher Development Schemes team's self-service chatbot, for guidance on variation requirements and eligibility. If a variation request is required or further assistance is needed, submit a request through the Research Helpline- General Enquiries Form.

    Extensions to a project end date will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. In most cases, the maximum extension is six months unless otherwise specified in the funding guidelines. Requests must be approved by the chief investigator’s Head of Department and submitted to the RDS team at least one month prior to the original end date.

    Projects Involving Collaborators

    If your project involves a collaboration agreement, you must confirm that all collaborators who will remain involved in the project have been consulted and support the proposed changes before a variation request can be approved. Their email confirmation will suffice.

    Parental Leave and Other Extended Leave

    Before submitting a variation request, please consult EDGAR, the Researcher Development Schemes team's self-service chatbot, for guidance on required documentation and the variation process.

    If you are seeking an extension to a fellowship or grant due to parental leave or another approved period of extended leave, additional employment and grant administration steps are required.  Following the steps outlined  below:

    1. Obtain approval for your leave in accordance with your Faculty or Department's processes.
    2. Work with your Human Resource Business Partner to update your employment record and contract end date, where applicable.
    3. Once your employment record has been updated, submit a Research Helpline – General Enquiries request and attach:
      • a completed Variation Request Form; and
      • documentation confirming your revised employment end date.

    How to Submit a Variation Request

    Once completed and fully signed, please submit your Variation Request Form via the Research Helpline general enquiry - Research Services.

    Follow these steps in the form:

    1. My request relates to: Select Research Grants and Contracts
    2. Related to a GRANT/CONTRACT: Select Grants
    3. Relation to a Research Grant Proposal, a Grant Award, or Agreement: Select Research Agreement, Tender, or Contract
    4. Internal or external party: Select Internal UoM
    5. Attach your completed Variation Request form and any supporting documentation, and provide a brief description of the requested changes in the enquiry details section.
    Variation requests should be submitted as early as possible. Requests to extend a project end date must be received at least one month before the current end date and include approval from the Chief Investigator's Head of Department.

    Following submission:

    The Researcher Development Schemes team will update the relevant research management records and arrange any required amendments to associated project records.

    Important: Variations to project, grant, or fellowship end dates do NOT increase the awarded funding. Instead, they provide additional time for funds to be used. If salary adjustments are required to complete your project, kindly seek assistance from your faculty/department.

    Needing other Post-award Support?

    Submit queries via the Research Helpline – General Enquiries form.

  • University of Melbourne's internal grants cannot be transferred. When you leave the University, the award must be relinquished and any unspent funds returned. Contact the RDS team or the Grants Officer who co-ordinates your scheme if you are intending to leave the University. They will advise of any steps you need to take (such as submitting a final report) and can organise the recoupment of funds.

    In the event that you change Faculty or Department while holding a grant, the RDS team can also assist with the transfer of your funds. Please contact the  team via the Research Helpline General Enquiry form (Select 'Research Grants and Contracts' > 'Grants' > 'Research Agreement' ) to be advised of current processes.

  • Before submitting a support request, please consult EDGAR, the Researcher Development Schemes team's self-service chatbot, for guidance on reporting obligations, report templates, acquittals and submission requirements. If your question remains unresolved or you require assistance with a specific matter, submit a request through the Research Helpline – General Enquiries form.

    Progress and Final Reports

    Recipients of internal grants are required to submit a report in accordance with the conditions of the award. Each report must be approved by the appropriate Head of Department and, where relevant, shared with project collaborators.

    Final reports must include a financial summary of the relevant project/workshop/grant, sourced from the Project Essentials dashboard in Workday.

    To gain access to the dashboard and capture a screenshot for inclusion in the final report:

    1. In Workday, type “Project Essentials” in the search bar and press Enter.
    2. Click the blue Project Essentials link to open the report.
    3. For your first-time setup, please follow the steps outlined in the Knowledge Base Article (KBA), available via the Instructions tab shown in Workday when the report is run.

    The value to be entered in the final report for funds remaining can be found in the column titled “Balance Including Carried Forward”.

    If you require assistance, please contact your faculty’s Post Award Finance representative.

    For Fellowships (excluding the Dyason Fellowship):

    All other grants and the Dyason Fellowship:

    How to Submit Your Report

    Please upload a single PDF copy of your completed report to Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (RIC) using the Research Helpline – General Enquiries form.

    Follow these steps in the form:

    1. My request relates to: Select Research Grants and Contracts
    2. Related to a GRANT/CONTRACT: Select Grants
    3. Relation to a Research Grant Proposal, a Grant Award, or Agreement: Select Research Agreement, Tender, or Contract
    4. Internal or external party: Select Internal UoM
    5. Attach your completed PDF report and provide any relevant details in the text fields.

    Needing other Post-award Support?

    Submit queries via the Research Helpline – General Enquiries form.

    Post-award support