Further Information about EPIC Futures

The slides from the webinar were shared by email on Wednesday 16th October and made available on the webpage from Friday 18th October, 12pm. The webinar video was added to the webpage with this FAQ on Friday 25th October 2024.

• Watch the webinar

The online application form has been provided in PDF format from Friday 25th October 2024. Please note that this PDF document is for preparation purposes only. The online application form must be submitted with the supporting documents attached.

• Download PDF version of application form

Please note that the case for support, justification of resources, CVs and partner letters of support are attached documents to the online form in .pdf, .doc, .docx format. See Pg. 10 of the EPIC Futures NI Policy Commissioning Call Guidance for full details.

Due to the limited amount of funding and the scale of Northern Ireland, a lead applicant can only submit one proposal. However, a lead applicant can also form part of a partnership on another application.

VAT Inclusive amounts should be submitted using the justification of resources template (Appendix 1 of EPIC Futures NI Policy Commissioning Call Guidance).

Grants are not a payment for a service, they are provided without expectation of any return to UKRI. Grant funding lies entirely outside the scope of VAT, any costs claimed must be net of VAT.

Organisations that are not registered for VAT can include VAT incurred within their costs. Academic participants and industry partners can legitimately claim irrecoverable VAT incurred as part of their costs.

The rate at which the EPIC Futures NI Policy Commissioning fund is paid will depend on who is applying for the funding. As per UKRI rules, academics/research organisations will be paid at 80% FEC. Non-research organisations will be paid at 100% FEC.

If your project involves a collaboration between an academic/research organisation(s) and non-research organisation(s) (especially if there is an element of data collection involved – see question 8), it is advised to consider the most effective partnership structure for the application to meet quality and ethical standards.

A member of the team does not need to have a PhD. However, the team needs to show experience and capability to deliver on high quality work on time and within budget. As noted in the scoring criteria, there are marks awarded for the methodology and team.

Each applicant will need to consider if having someone who has a PhD will strengthen the application (depending on the nature of the proposed work). We strongly encourage collaboration with partners to bring together skill sets that will strengthen each application.

The purpose of the EPIC Futures NI Policy Commissioning Call is to develop a robust evidence base exploring key themes that can contribute towards a more inclusive and sustainable labour market in Northern Ireland.

Applications will be scored on the ability to provide explorative approaches to the nine themes including scoping studies, literature reviews, benchmarking, and empirical studies (quantitative and qualitative). Pilot studies, in preparation for potential Call 2 applications will also be considered.

The main focus of all applications should be the output / outcomes which will inform policy in Northern Ireland. Phase 1 of the Policy Commissioning Call is a pilot, adopting an explorative approach on how to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable labour market in Northern Ireland.

• The application cannot include payment to deliver an existing service.
• The application can include payment to deliver an element of a new pilot programme/service that requires explorative approaches to develop an evidence base to inform future policy in Northern Ireland.
• The majority of all funding applications should focus on the evidence base and impact for Policy in the NI context.

We strongly encourage collaboration which brings different skill sets and expertise together to develop new and innovative solutions to existing challenges. Each applicant should consider if their application will be strengthened by partnering with an academic institution.

We encourage all proposals to consider if there are ethical or responsible research and innovation (RRI) implications and issues relating to the proposed work. If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, you should explain why as part of your proposal.

The EPIC Futures NI team cannot submit ethics on behalf of funded projects since the ethics framework of Ulster University requires the person submitting ethics to be involved in the research as a chief investigator. As noted in this call, no named members of the EPIC Futures NI team are permitted to be involved in any of the projects funded by this phase 1 call.

Some organisations have their own existing robust research ethics and governance frameworks and applicants should include details of those in their proposal if they intend to collect data from human participants.

For organisations which do not have access to research ethics and governance frameworks but wish to collect data from human participants, they may need to consider including an academic as part of their proposal who can apply for ethics through the appropriate mechanisms. This will depend on the nature of the work proposed.

Please note that proposals which involve the collection of data from young people under the age of 18 and individuals who could be viewed as being vulnerable can require a lengthy ethics process through university research ethics and governance channels. This can take between 8-16 weeks to achieve, depending on nature of the project and the university. Individuals engaged in the conduct and assessment of projects involving vulnerable and all other human participants should note the provisions of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Not all projects involving people as subjects or participants may need consideration under a full research ethics and governance framework. For example, analysis of some types of existing anonymised data, low impact questionnaire surveys e.g. opinion polls or evaluation data. However, informed consent is essential if data is being collected and all data must be managed in line with GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act 1998. Applicants should assess their own proposals honestly and conduct an appropriate risk assessment. Applicants should be prepared to submit relevant data collection materials for review prior to starting data collection if there is any possibility of harm or upset or any concern about the vulnerability of anyone involved in the research.

If an organisation working outside of an academic ethics framework is recommended for funding for a project that falls within the scope of people as subjects or participants, they will be required to agree to the standards set out in Ulster University ethics framework.

Assessment of appropriateness of ethics and research governance processes will be made by the reviewers and the EPIC Futures NI team. Upon award stage, conditions of an award could include fulfilling appropriate requirements related to research ethics and governance.

The EPIC Futures NI Website will be launched at the end of November 2024. This will provide an interim solution to gather the resources which partners and other stakeholders have suggested would be useful to showcase. Further details of this will be communicated to the EPIC Futures NI mailing list and across social media channels. Please ensure to sign up to the mailing list and social media channels to keep up to date with developments.

The Labour Market Observatory (LMO) will be launched in 2025. This will provide one central location to showcase research which has been commissioned by EPIC Futures NI, partners and other organisations that wish to extend the reach of their research.

If you have access to research that has been commissioned across the UK but is not specific to Northern Ireland, we encourage you to consider if replicating this research in the Northern Ireland context would add value.

The Local Policy and Innovation Partnerships aim to focus on place-based solutions to skills and employability challenges and to fill data gaps at a Northern Ireland level, where Northern Ireland has contextual nuances which differ from parts of the UK. Therefore ensuring relevance for policy and practice in the Northern Ireland context is vitally important.

The EPIC Futures NI Policy Commissioning Call aims to create new and innovative solutions to existing challenges within the context of the funder guidance from UKRI. A pilot approach is being adopted to assess unique approaches to bring academia, policy, community, and voluntary sector together to remove the barriers that people face to fair and meaningful employment.

As per UKRI rules, government organisations are limited in regards to the costs which can be claimed. Therefore, it would be difficult within government procurement rules to deliver effectively within the six month timeframe for this Phase 1 call.
“PcLs from UK businesses or government organisations cannot claim overheads and other indirect costs on any element of the grant”.

UKRI funding guidelines outline eligible costs as noted in table 1.

Reference table 1. Outline eligible costs for non-higher education organisations.

It was outlined on Pg.10 of the EPIC Futures NI Policy Commissioning Call Guidance. “Collaboration with statutory organisations is encouraged but statutory organisations cannot be the lead applicant”.

However, if a statutory/government organisation feel they can  lead and deliver on a project within the 6 month time frame and within the eligible funding guidelines, then this will be permitted and the application will be scored. However, the application will need to justify how this will be achieved in the case for support and justification for resources sections.

If in-kind resources will be provided to aid the delivery of the project (e.g. in-kind salary, other direct costs and overheads), then a letter of support and commitment will need to be provided by the relevant organisation(s).

The call guidance has been updated to reflect this eligibility criteria. See page 10-11.

Yes, the funding can be used for both these costs. Reviewers will consider the appropriateness of costs versus outputs/deliverables. Applicants need to explain in the justification of resources section how they intend to recruit and deliver within the 6 month timeframe. Recruitment policies of applicants may not facilitate recruitment within the timeframe required to start delivery of the project (6 weeks of award notification date).

We are accepting topics that are closely related to the themes that have been identified but are not noted specifically in the bullet points. It will be important to identify in the case for support how the topic links to one or more of the existing themes to ensure the panel can allocate scores effectively. As noted in the scoring criteria, all topics proposed need to include an ‘Identification of knowledge gaps related to theme(s)’. There have been some outputs related to underemployment already conducted in the Northern Ireland context. Any topic proposed needs to identify how their project will advance existing knowledge, and have relevance to policy and practice related to employability and skills in NI.

The case of support should include details related to the lead/team, experience and collaboration. This is not always clear to judge from CVs. This information will be assessed alongside the review of applicant CVs for the scoring process. Information from all parts of the application will be used to inform the scoring process.

Yes, the Phase 2 funding call will have a 1 year delivery timeframe.

Any successful Phase 1 applicants that are intending to submit to Phase 2 for the remainder of their project will need to ensure the Phase 1 proposal produces outputs and deliverables which are of value in their own right.

The release dates and threshold limit for the Phase 2 call will be confirmed in 2025 when the learning from Phase 1 has been reviewed.

The EPIC Futures NI Policy Commissioning Call (Phase 1) is required to be delivered within a timeframe of 6 months. It is essential that all delivery and spend is completed within the timeframe and that the dates for submitting expenses are met.

In regards to eligibility - if the Company’s House process for applying for more time to file your accounts has been followed and this is a one off instance, the application will be scored. However, we will need evidence that this is not a repeated pattern demonstrating ongoing challenges with financial management.

Please include a paragraph in the justification of resources and align with the criteria outlined by company’s house.
Applying for more time to file your company’s accounts - GOV.UK

Yes, applications can be resubmitted. However, each applicant will need to assess how their application can be improved if resubmitting in Phase 2. The Phase 2 call will be up to a 1 year delivery timeframe. The thresholds for Phase 2 and guidance will be released in 2025.

Everyone who is on the application proposal needs to include their full details on the relevant section of the online form and submit their CV. Applicants are asked to include the names and organisations of all co-investigators. There is an attachment for CVs (appended into one document) and letters of support (appended into one document).

As noted in the call guidance: We suggest that applicants may wish to cover one topic within one theme in their proposal. There will be cross cutting elements to some themes. Applicants may decide to cover more than one topic in their proposal however, this is at the discretion of the applicant.

The is no specific guidance related to a percentage however, it needs to be appropriate for the proposed activities. The funder guidance notes that the full cost of the proposed project (including estates and indirect costs) will be taken into account when assessing the justification of resources.

As noted in the EPIC Futures NI Commissioning Call Guidance, reviewers will consider the appropriateness of costs alongside their eligibility. If a project is recommended for funding and all costs are not considered appropriate/ are not eligible, a reduced budget may be awarded.

University staff can allocate a percentage of their time to the project, which is normal practice for research project applications funded by UKRI and ESRC. This does not usually require a redeployment arrangement however, each university will be required to consider how this is managed within their own policies and procedures.

Academic’s will need to ensure they can allocate the percentage of time which they include in the proposal alongside any other duties during the 6 month period (if relevant). The justification of resources needs to justify all costs sought. Reviewers will consider the appropriateness of costs in their assessment. The call guidance notes examples of eligible costs and under ‘Directly Incurred’ costs it is noted: Investigators (Principal and co-investigators time charge).

As per UKRI rules, academics/research organisations will be paid at 80% Full Economic Costing. Non-research organisations will be paid at 100% FEC.

The call guidance notes give examples of eligible costs and under ‘Directly Incurred' costs it is noted: Investigators (Principal and co-investigators time charge). This can be a percentage of an existing staff members time.

The individual staff member will need to ensure they can allocate the percentage time which they include in the proposal alongside any other duties during the 6 month period (if relevant).

The justification of resources needs to justify all costs sought. As noted in the call guidance, reviewers will consider appropriateness of costs.

As noted in the call guidance:

• The Lead Applicant for the Commissioning Call Grant needs to: Be based within (live in or have a business address) and be at least 18 years old.
• We strongly encourage proposals which are in collaboration with stakeholders from different backgrounds and disciplines.
• Members of the team may reside outside the UK but funds need to be administered through a UK lead applicant.
• We do welcome collaborations across the Island of Ireland and beyond, where learning can be gained for Northern Ireland.

Please note that as per the funder rules, international co-investigators are permitted to form 30% of the Full Economic Costing (FEC) of the funding proposal.

Ethical approval needs to be gained in the country which the research is being conducted. If the research is being conducted in the UK, then a UK based institution needs to approve the ethics. If research is being conducted in other countries, then an appropriate institution in that country will approve the ethics needed for the proposal. If it is a cross-country study, then ethics will need to be gained in each country.

This is standard for all projects which involve the collection of data and aligns with Ulster University’s Governance and Ethical Standards. Any successful applicant who is collecting new data will be required to provide documentation that appropriate ethical approvals have been granted.

Yes, the lead applicant can be anyone from the UK who is listed to be eligible, and who fulfils the eligibility criteria. Please read the full call guidance and the governance and management of grants guidance which denotes eligibility checks for lead applicants and identifies that additional eligibility checks will be completed if a proposal is successful.

Applicants should consider the best partnership approach/ structures for the application which takes into consideration ethical approval requirements (where applicable) from the country of the research, eligible costs and Full Economic Costs for academic (80%) and non-academic institutions (100%).

Only proposals which have a lead applicant from the UK, who meets all eligibility criteria can be awarded funding.

The total budget is £30,000 Full Economic Costs (FEC). Costs cannot go over this amount. For academic institutions who are applying, they will receive 80% FEC, which means they will receive £24,000 and their institution will be expected to cover the other 20% of costs.

If there is a partnership approach and the non-academic organisation is claiming £15,000, they will get £15,000 FEC. This leaves the academic organisation to have maximum costs of £15K at FEC (to reach the budget of £30,000). If the academic organisation submit costs for the full £15K, they will get £12K (which is 80% of their FEC). This is normal practice for research organisations to receive 80% FEC for projects which are funded by UKRI/ESRC and other related funders.

If you are including an academic institution and there is data being collected, we would recommend they are the lead organisation due to their restrictions of 80% FEC. The university will be able to develop appropriate procurement contracts to enable the other organisations to access the correct amount of funding.

We strongly recommend that applicants read the guidance regarding permitted costs carefully. All costs which are sought need to be fully justified in the justification for resources section and be appropriate for delivering on the proposed activities. Reviewers will consider appropriateness of costs.

Costs need to be claimed back through providing appropriate evidence/receipts/ upon outputs and deliverables therefore any shared costs need to be able to be evidenced in the correct way to allow for claims to be made. Estates costs would normally include many of the shared costs noted in the question. If a proposal is recommended for funding and costs are included which are not eligible, the amount of the award will be reduced to include only eligible costs. If successful applicants submit expenses which are ineligible, these expenses will not be able to be processed/refunded.

For proposals being submitted, please include all details of the people involved in the project, who will be treated as being co-investigators. The scoring criteria awards marks to the lead/team, experience and collaboration.

The online form asks for a list of all partner organisations and full names of co-investigators.

If you are seeking to understand who is not eligible to apply for the funding, this is only the named academic and non-academic co-investigators who are involved in EPIC Futures NI. As noted in the call guidance, other individuals from their respective organisations can apply. If you would like a copy of the named academic and non-academic co-investigators who are part of EPIC Futures NI, email EPICFutures@ulster.ac.uk at any time before the closing date. However, please give 48 hours for a response.

The application will be submitted by a lead applicant and the funding will be administered to them. All other partners are considered applicants through the partnership arrangement. They should be listed as co-investigators and their full details included in the online form. A letter of support must be provided from each partner organisation.