BHF is funding urgently needed research
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Grant Costing Guide
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. This document provides general guidance on the types of cost that may be requested on BHF grant applications. Costs should be kept to a minimum and fully justified.
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Item |
Allowed |
Not Allowed |
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Salaries for staff employed on fixed term contracts to work specifically on the funded project including research assistants, data manager, technicians, |
Basic salary on the appropriate national pay scale, NI, SA, LA if applicable (see notes on costing salaries below) 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 CTU staff where justified |
Local pay awards, redundancy, child care |
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Non clinical PhD students (may not be funded on grants other than PhD studentships) |
BHF student stipend, university tuition fees at the home rate (capped at £8,000 for 2025/26) (see stipend rates below) |
Overseas tuition fees College fees will not be awarded from April 2025 |
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Clinical PhD students (may not be funded on grants other than clinical research training fellowships) |
Basic salary on the appropriate national pay scale, NI, SA, LA if applicable, university tuition fees at the home rate (capped at £8,000 for 2025/26) (see notes on costing salaries below) |
Overseas tuition fees College fees will not be awarded from April 2025 |
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Laboratory expenses |
Laboratory chemicals and materials required specifically for the research project and where fully justified. A breakdown must be included |
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Animal research costs (eg purchase, transportation, maintenance) |
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 |
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Patient and public involvement (eg honorarium payments for time and/or expenses incurred when attending in-person meetings) |
Please refer to Payment guidance for researchers and professionals | NIHR |
Costs incurred prior to an award |
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Clinical research image scans |
Please refer to Guidelines for costing clinical research imagining scans for the maximum cost BHF will reimburse depending on the type of scan |
Indirect costs, clinical reports, scanner replacement costs |
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Outsourcing |
Funds to outsource specifically defined piece(s) of work on behalf of the investigators on a contracted/fee-for-service basis, (eg contract research organisations (CROs)), subject to appropriate justification |
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Intellectual property costs (eg patent filling, maintenance costs, freedom to operate searches) |
Not allowed |
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Equipment |
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. |
VAT, maintenance, service (except for large items where included as part of the purchase quote) |
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Personal computers, laptops and tablets |
Where justified for named individuals when integral to an item of equipment, for mathematical modelling or work specifically on the grant 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 |
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Computer accessories (eg drives, cases, chargers, batteries) |
Not allowed |
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Software in excess of personal computing cost |
Costs of specialised software specific to the proposed research |
Generic office software |
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Data management and sharing costs |
Costs for archiving, repository fees, data storage costs and data management services that are reasonable and proportionate to the overall grant |
Open Access costs (these can only be claimed from the block grant awarded to your institute if it is eligible. Please refer to BHF’s Open Access Policy) |
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Recruitment |
If relating to patients/participants on a clinical trial |
If relating to staff employed on the grant |
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Furniture (eg desks, chairs, lab furniture, telephones) |
Not allowed |
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Stationery |
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Not allowed |
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Utilities costs (eg electricity, gas, water) |
Not allowed |
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Departmental support staff |
Not allowed |
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Clothing (lab coats, gloves, protective clothing) |
Not allowed |
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Mobile phones, telephone and internet costs |
Not allowed |
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Fees and memberships to professional organisations |
Not allowed |
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Insurance (eg travel, IT equipment, sponsor insurance for clinical trails) |
Not allowed |
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Training courses |
Reasonable costs related to: i) the science of the award and required specifically to carry out the proposed research eg training on scientific equipment or techniques. ii) formal training in experimental design and methodology, and understanding drug development. Course details and full justification must be provided |
Non science specific, IT, personal development, degree awarding programmes etc |
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Catering |
Refreshments for participants on a clinical trial |
Research/collaborative meetings |
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Travel for research (Consumables Budget) Remote conferencing should be used whenever possible to minimise carbon output |
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, subsistence |
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Travel for conferences (Travel Fund) |
To present research at or attend scientific conferences relevant to the grant. Maximum limits apply per grant type (see notes on Travel Fund below). 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 |
Research training and networking events, membership fees (only if 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, Wi-Fi charges |
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Overseas subsistence |
For overseas travel of up to 6 months on fellowships. Use the university's normal subsistence rates (we reserve the right to challenge/reduce) |
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MHRA fees |
Trial registration, clinical trial authorisation |
Cost of maintaining a facility to MHRA standards and inspections |
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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 should be requested |
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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 |
Page charges, cost of colour printing |
Costing clinical imaging scans
Read our guidance about how to cost a clinical research imaging scan, including magnetic resonance imaging scans, CT scans and Echocardiography.
Costing Salaries
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Salaries should be calculated from the start date of the project based on national payscales.
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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.
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Salaries for named individuals must state their current basic salary, source of funding and contract end date.
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Salaries should allow for normal increments during the term of the grant. The increment date should be given.
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We will honour nationally agreed cost of living increases only on approved salaries, 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 % 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.
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We will not pay the UK apprenticeship levy.
PhD studentships - stipend rates and university fees
We set our own rates for PhD Studentships.
The rates from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2025 are:
Year 1
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Within London £22,278
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Outside London £19,919
Year 2
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Within London £24,093
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Outside London £21,542
Year 3
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Within London £26,057
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Outside London £23,298
The rates from 1 October 2025 until further notice are:
Year 1
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Within London £23,615
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Outside London £21,114
Year 2
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Within London £25,539
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Outside London £22,835
Year 3
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Within London £27,620
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Outside London £24,696
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 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 over the original grant award.
Travel Fund
Maximum limits apply per grant type for travel to present research at or attend scientific meetings relevant to the grant:
Advanced Training Award - £500 per year
Career Development Research Fellowship - £500 per year
Career Re-entry Research Fellowship - £500 per year
Clinical Research Training Fellowship - £500 per year
Clinical Study - £2,000 per year
Consultant Research Award - £500 per year
Immediate Postdoctoral Basic Science Research Fellowship - £500 per year
Infrastructure Grant – fund not available
Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellowship - £500 per year
Intermediate Clinical Research Fellowship - £500 per year
MBPhD Studentship - £1,000 for 3 years
New Horizons Grant - £2,000 per year
PhD Studentship - £1,000 for 3 years
Programme Grant - £2,000 per year
Project Grant - £1,000 per year
Research Training Fellowship - £500 per year
Senior Basic Science Research Fellowship - £500 per year
Senior Clinical Research Fellowship - £500 per year
Special Project - £2,000 per year
Translational Award - £1,000 per year
Travel Fellowship – fund not available
More information
Information for researchers
Here’s what you need to know about how to apply for BHF research grants, how we award them, and how to manage them.
For professionals
Apply for a grant as a researcher, access resources as a healthcare professional and contact the BHF for press information if you are a journalist.