Updated research FAQ: Fellowships
18 Sep 2020
Frequently asked questions are updated regularly
This advice is correct at the time of publication of this news article.
If you have health concerns then you should refer to the NHS website as recommended by Public Health England. For other queries regarding the current situation, email coronavirus-info@manchester.ac.uk.
We have updated the following questions in the coronavirus research FAQ:
What are the rules around no-cost extensions and COVID Allocation (CoA) disruption funding and how do they affect my Fellowship?
The CoA is from UKRI and only applies to UKRI-funded Fellowships. If you are a UKRI-funded Fellow please talk to your line manager and read the details of how this funding will be allocated.
If I am not eligible for the UKRI CoA disruption funding, will my Fellowship be extended to account for any disruption?
The possibility of an extension is dependent on your funder’s terms and conditions. If your Fellowship is funded by the University (for example if you hold a Presidential, Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, Simon and Hallsworth Fellowship) it may be possible to extend your Fellowship – cases will be considered individually. Please discuss this with your line manager.
My Fellowship is due to end soon but it has been disrupted, what should I do?
Your funder may allow a no-cost extension to the award. However since staff costs are still incurred by the University during such an extension, you must contact your local Research Services team to establish if the funder will meet these staff costs. Where the funder does not agree to meet these costs, extensions to individual staff contracts are unlikely to be approved. Where the Fellowship is funded by UKRI, please refer to the FAQ relating to the additional UKRI CoA funding.
I am still in my probation period, but I feel my progress has been affected – what can I do?
Research Fellows with a four-year probation period (mainly Presidential Fellows) will have probation extended by 12 months as a matter of course, unless both the probationer and their Head of School are happy that probation has been successfully completed despite COVID-19 disruption. Anyone on a shorter probation period who feels they have been significantly disrupted by COVID-19 should first discuss any concerns with their line manager.