Grant Costing Guide

The British Heart Foundation provides funds for the directly incurred costs of research projects. These are the actual costs that are explicitly identifiable as arising from the conduct of the project. We do not fund on a proportion of full economic costs (fEC) basis.

Read on for guidance on the types of cost that may be requested on BHF grant applications. Please also see our Research Professors’ Costing Policy. Costs should be kept to a minimum and fully justified.

Cost categories and eligibility

The following is a list of cost categories that are typically eligible for grant funding. Each category includes specific conditions and limitations on what may be requested.

Staff salaries

Salaries may be requested for staff who are employed on fixed-term contracts to work specifically on the funded project, such as research assistants, data managers and technicians.

Basic salaries on the appropriate national pay scale are covered, as well as National Insurance, superannuation and London Allowance if applicable. Learn more about costing salaries.

The level of salary must be appropriate for the work. Senior posts must be fully justified. Posts of less than 0.2FTE may be challenged/removed with the exception of Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) staff where justified.

The following costs may not be requested:

• Local pay awards
• Redundancy
• Childcare except on certain Fellowship schemes (please refer to the individual scheme guidance)

Non-clinical PhD students

Non-clinical PhD students may not be funded on grants other than Discovery Research PhD studentships.

The following costs may be requested:

• BHF student stipend (view our PhD stipend rates)
• University tuition fees at the home rate (capped at £8,000 for academic year the 2025/26 academic year)

The following costs may not be requested:

• Overseas tuition fees
• College fees

Clinical PhD students

Clinical PhD students may not be funded on grants other than clinical research training fellowships.

The following costs may be requested:

• Basic salaries on the appropriate national pay scale, as well as National Insurance, superannuation and London Allowance if applicable
• University tuition fees at the home rate (capped at £8,000 for academic year the 2025/26 academic year). Learn more about costing salaries.

The following costs may not be requested:

• Overseas tuition fees
• College fees

Laboratory expenses

Laboratory chemicals and materials may be requested if required specifically for the research project and where fully justified. A breakdown must be included.

Animal research costs

Examples include costs incurred for purchase, transportation and maintenance.

We cover Home Office licences up to £329 per year for named individuals.

Where BHF has provided significant funding towards animal housing facilities, we expect this to be reflected in reduced costs to the grant.

Training costs may not be requested.

Patient and public involvement

Examples include honorarium payments for time and/or expenses incurred when attending in-person meetings.

Please refer to NIHR payment guidance for researchers and professionals.

Costs incurred prior to an award may not be requested.

Clinical research image scans

Please refer to our guidance on how to cost clinical research imagining scans. The maximum cost BHF will reimburse depends on the type of scan, such as MRI scans, CT scans or Echocardiography.

The following costs may not be requested:

• Indirect costs
• Clinical reports
• Scanner replacement costs

Outsourcing

Subject to appropriate justification, funds needed to outsource defined piece(s) of work on behalf of the investigators may be requested. This must be on a contracted/fee-for-service basis, e.g. contract research organisations (CROs).

Equipment

Applicants may request costs for small items of equipment essential to the research project. Quotes must be included for items costing £5,000 or more. A contribution to larger items will be considered if a significant proportion of the required funds will be provided by the host institution. Details must be provided in the application.

The following costs may not be requested:

• VAT
• Equipment maintenance costs
• Servicing except for large items (where included as part of the purchase quote)

Personal computers, laptops and tablets

Costs for these items can be requested where justified for named individuals for work specifically on the grant e.g. when integral to an item of equipment or for mathematical modelling, up to a maximum £1,000. Specialist computer equipment above £1,000 will be considered subject to a detailed justification.

Standard per unit IT charges may not be requested.

Software in excess of personal computing cost

This includes costs of specialised software specific to the proposed research.

Generic office software may not be requested.

Data management and sharing costs

Funds may be requested to cover the costs for archiving, repository fees, data storage and data management services that are reasonable and proportionate to the overall grant.

Recruitment

Recruitment costs may be requested if relating to patients/participants on a clinical trial.

Recruitment costs relating to staff employed on the grant may not be requested.

Training courses

This includes reasonable costs related to:

• The science of the award and required specifically to carry out the proposed research e.g. training on scientific equipment or techniques.
• Formal training in experimental design and methodology, and understanding drug development.

Course details and full justification must be provided.

The following training costs may not be requested except on certain Fellowship schemes (please refer to the individual scheme guidance):

• Non-science specific training
• IT training
• Personal development programmes
• Degree awarding programmes

Catering

Funds to cover refreshments for participants on a clinical trial may be requested.

Catering costs for research/collaborative meetings may not be requested.

Travel for research (Consumables Budget)

Note, remote conferencing should be used whenever possible to minimise carbon output.

The following costs may be requested:

• Advanced economy return fares if essential to carry out the research project.
• Economy accommodation to reduce travel costs and carbon output if the visit requires more than one day.

Non-essential travel and subsistence costs may not be requested.

Travel for conferences (Travel Fund)

This may be requested if presenting research at or attending scientific conferences relevant to the grant. Learn more about Travel Fund maximum limits per grant type.

Costs may include economy travel, visas, subsistence (up to £45 per day), hotel accommodation (up to £150 per night) registration fees, abstract submission and poster printing.

The following costs are not included: research training and networking events, membership fees (unless the combined cost of membership and registration is lower than full registration), publication charges, course fees, customs fees, travel insurance, first class travel, car hire, petrol, parking fines, alcoholic beverages, gratuity and Wi-Fi charges.

Overseas subsistence

Applicants may request funding for overseas travel of up to 6 months on fellowships.

Please use the university's normal subsistence rates and note that we reserve the right to challenge/reduce them.

MHRA fees

Fees related to trial registration and clinical trial authorisation may be requested.

The cost of maintaining a facility to MHRA standards and inspections may not be requested.

Access charges for use of equipment and facilities

Where BHF has provided significant funding towards infrastructure and/or core facility support, reduced access/charge-out costs may be requested.

Publication costs

Open Access costs may be claimed from the block grant awarded to your institute if it is eligible, not from the grant. Please refer to BHF’s Open Access Policy.

Costs of page charges and colour printing may not be requested.

Costs that may not be requested

Funding requests will not be considered for the following items:

• Intellectual property costs e.g. patent filling, maintenance costs, freedom to operate searches
• Computer accessories e.g. drives, cases, chargers, batteries
• Furniture e.g. desks, chairs, lab furniture, telephones
• Stationery
• Utilities costs e.g. electricity, gas, water
• Departmental support staff
• Clothing e.g. lab coats, gloves, protective clothing
• Mobile phones, telephone and internet costs
• Fees and memberships to professional organisations
• Insurance e.g. travel, IT equipment, sponsor insurance for clinical trails
• Staff events e.g. Away Days, team lunches, socials

Guidance on costing salaries

When costing salaries, please note the following points:

• Salaries should be calculated from the start date of the project based on national payscales.
• Salaries applied for should show basic rate (with grade and scale point), employer’s National Insurance, superannuation and London Allowance (if applicable). An employer's pension contribution must not be higher than the rate used by the University Superannuation Scheme (USS) or NHS pension scheme.
• Salaries for named individuals must state their current basic salary, source of funding and contract end date.
• Salaries should allow for normal increments during the term of the grant. The increment date should be given.
• We will only honour nationally agreed cost of living increases if sufficient provision is requested in the application and subsequently awarded. A provision should be included based on the last pay award given using the predicted rate of the host institution's internal costing system. You will be asked to state the percentage increase you have used. Please note, we will only reimburse actual salary costs as per the Standard Conditions of Grant and not the predicted rates applied for if these are higher.
• We will not pay the UK apprenticeship levy.

PhD studentships: stipend rates and university fees

We set our own stipend rates for PhD Studentships.

The rates from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2025 are:

The rates from 1 October 2025 until further notice are:

Students on the BHF 4-year PhD Programme: the first year rate applies in years 1 and 2, rising to the second year rate in year 3 and third year rate in year 4.

We will cover the cost of University fees at the home rate (capped at £8,000 for the 2025/26 academic year 2025/26) providing these are applied for at the time of application.

Please ensure sufficient budget for fees, including annual increases for the duration of the studentship is applied for, as shortfalls will not be covered. College fees and international fees will not be supported. A contingency for possible future BHF stipend increases will be available for BHF's use only.

It is extremely unlikely that any supplements will be given above the original grant award.

Travel Fund maximum limits

Please note the following maximum limits per grant type for travel to present research at or attend scientific meetings relevant to the grant: 

Career Development Research Fellowship: £1,000 per year 

Clinical Early Career Research Fellowship: £1,000 per year

Clinical Future Leaders Fellowship: £1,000 per year

Clinical Senior Research Fellowship: £1,000 per year

Clinical Research Training Fellowship: £1,000 per year

Clinical Study: £2,000 per year

Consultant Research Award: £1,000 per year

Discovery Research Early Career Fellowship: £1,000 per year

Discovery Research Future Leaders Fellowship: £1,000 per year

Discovery Research Senior Fellowship: £1,000 per year

Discovery Research PhD Studentship: £1,000 per year

Infrastructure Grant: fund not available 

MBPhD Studentship: £1,000 per year

New Horizons Grant: £2,000 per year 

Programme Grant: £2,000 per year

Project Grant: £1,000 per year

Research Training Fellowship: £1,000 per year 

Special Project: £2,000 per year

Translational Award: £1,000 per year