Coronavirus (COVID-19): FAQ for Royal Society award holders

This page was last updated Wednesday 22 December 2021.

For clarification on the below FAQ or any further questions, please contact the appropriate team who manage your grant or fellowship. For general queries, please contact grants@royalsociety.org or +44 (0)20 7451 2666.

My fellowship or grant

What is the Royal Society's position on delays to research caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?

The Royal Society will provide no-cost extensions for any award holder whose research is delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and these will be managed through our normal processes. As the situation continues to evolve and understanding is gained on the impact of the pandemic, the duration of no-cost extensions will be considered.

At the end of June 2020, the UK Government, through the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), announced a package of financial support to ease the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on certain researchers funded through UKRI and the National Academies. The funding assigned to Royal Society researchers from this budget was allocated to eligible awards in early 2021.

We recognise that the pandemic may be affecting research differently across different disciplines. We are working to understand these further and we would encourage you to let us know about the challenges you encounter.

Will the Royal Society continue to make scheduled payments on my fellowship or grant if my host organisation closes or moves to home working?

The Royal Society will continue paying all fellowships and grants in line with currently agreed payment schedules. The Society expects all salaries and stipends supported through the grant to continue being paid in line with the award. This will be reviewed as understanding of the current situation evolves.

I have been recruited to support the coronavirus response; how will this affect my fellowship or grant?

If an award holder is recruited to support the coronavirus response, the Royal Society may provide additional funding to extend their fellowship appropriately. Such requests should be made in advanced by submitting a change request on Flexi-Grant and will be considered on a case by case basis.

I am due to start my fellowship shortly, however because my host organisation is closed or is encouraging home working, am I still able to start my fellowship? Will the Society commence payments on the award?

Currently in the UK, universities and research institutions are open to staff and students. We appreciate that, although many places of work are open, many staff and students are choosing to work from home either full or part time for personal reasons including shielding, looking after vulnerable children or dependents and being unable to travel to the UK. We understand this situation may not be the case in all countries and we encourage researchers based overseas to contact the grants team if they have concerns. 

If you are already employed by your host organisation, the Society will commence your award on the start date indicated in your grant letter and will make payments against the agreed payment schedule.

If you are not yet employed by your host organisation, you will require a contract of employment with your host organisation before the grant or fellowship can be started.

If you are a visiting academic (e.g. Newton International Fellow), we will ask your Head of Department to confirm in writing that they are content for the award to be commenced.

If you are currently unable to travel to the country where your award is to be held, we will consider remote working on a case-by-case basis subject to the approval of your host organisation's Head of Department.  

Funded extensions to fellowships and grants

If my fellowship is delayed by several months and I am unable to access facilities in my host organisation to conduct research, will the Society extend my fellowship and other associated staff costs at the end to account for this loss of time?

We acknowledge that such delays may create some difficulties in completing research as originally envisaged and would encourage researchers facing difficulty with costs associated with their awards to contact the Grants team via email outlining any concerns. Additional costs are not available but no-cost extensions can be requested to account for any time lost. 

Sick leave and caring leave policy

What is the Royal Society's position on those who become unwell with COVID-19 or need to self-isolate?

In the event that award holders become unwell or need to self-isolate, the Society will follow the policy of the host and/or employing organisation, in line with our Policies and Position Statements. Any PhD students funded on a grant who become unwell or need to self-isolate will also be supported through the same policies.

What is the Society's position if I am unable to work as normal as a result of caring for children or adult dependents who must self-isolate or quarantine?

We would expect all Royal Society funded researchers to be treated in the same way as other employees of their host organisation. You should therefore follow your host organisation's policy. No additional funding will be provided. Requests for flexible working (part-time) can be accomodated.

Research expenses

I am not able to use research costs as originally budgeted, can I use these costs for other research expenses?

Yes, any research costs that can no longer be used for their original purpose can be used for other research expenses on the basis that the change in expenditure remains within the funded aims and objectives of the research, and remains eligible in the context of the scheme. 

Where there are specific limits on consumable spend, these restrictions will be removed until 31st March 2022. During this time you do not need our consent to make these changes, however please note that this will be reviewed in early 2022 so please do ensure to refer back to this page for any updates. Limits on the award holder's salaries, PDRA costs, PhD student bursaries and fees, indirect costs, estate costs, management costs and equipment remain in place and changes may only be made with the Society's written agreement.

I am not able to use travel costs as originally budgeted, can I use these costs for other research expenses?

Yes, up until 31 March 2022, when this policy will be further reviewed, any travel or event costs that can no longer be used for their original purpose can be used for other research expenses on the basis that the change in expenditure remains within the funded aims and objectives of the research, and remains eligible in the context of the scheme.

For programmes such as International Exchanges and Newton Mobility Grants where we have previously limited the amount that can be spent on research, we are temporarily waiving these limits until 31 March 2022, as long as the funds are being used to support the original research aims outlined in your proposal.   You do not need our consent to make these changes.  This position will be reviewed again in early 2022 and in parallel to any government updates on travel restrictions. will be reviewed again in early 2022 and in parallel to any government updates on travel restrictions.

Where costs have been incurred for travel and/or events but these have subsequently been cancelled, can I still claim these costs against the award?

Where grant-related travel and events are cancelled and the costs are non-refundable or cannot be claimed on insurance, associated costs may be claimed as eligible against the award.

If research is suspended because organisations are closed, can any expenditure be incurred?

In the UK, universities and research institutions are open to staff and students. We appreciate that, although many places of work are open, many staff and students are choosing to work from home either full or part time for personal reasons including shielding, looking after vulnerable children or dependents and being unable to travel to the UK. We understand this situation may not be the case in all countries and we encourage researchers based overseas to contact the grants team if they have concerns. 

Other expenditure may be incurred against the research expenses of your grant subject to the usual host organisation approval process.

I will be incurring additional animal maintenance costs, am I able to get additional funding for this?

The Society encourages any underspend incurred from other research costs to cover any animal maintenance costs (e.g. from travel no longer being undertaken). If additional costs are required, we will consider these on a case-by-case basis via a change request form. We advise that you get in touch with the Office prior to submitting a change request.

Staff and students supported through grants

What will happen to PhD students if the COVID-19 pandemic results in insufficient time to complete their work?

We recognise that during the pandemic many PhD students found themselves unable to complete experiments in order to be ready to submit their thesis as result of departmental or institution closures. As part of our Covid-19 response, many students approaching the end of their tenure were permitted additional time where necessary to compensate for time lost.

In exceptional cases where Covid-19 has caused a disproportionate and sustained impact on studies, extensions for PhD students may be considered. We advise that you get in touch with the Office prior to submitting a change request.

If my research is suspended because my group cannot access laboratories, how will this affect PDRAs or other staff who are supported through fellowships or grants?

In the UK, universities and research institutions are open to staff and students. We appreciate that, although many places of work are open, many staff and students are choosing to work from home either full or part time for personal reasons including shielding, looking after vulnerable children or dependents and being unable to travel to the UK. We understand this situation may not be the case in all countries and we encourage researchers based overseas to contact the grants team if they have concerns. 

The Society will continue paying all fellowships and grants in line with current agreed schedules. We expect salaries and stipends to be paid in line with the award.  This will be reviewed as our understanding evolves.

The contract for a PDRA who is funded through my Royal Society award is about to run out, am I able to use any underspend on my grant to extend their employment?

If a PDRA is already funded through your Royal Society grant and you have an underspend that could be reallocated to extend their contract, we are willing to consider such requests. In the current circumstances, we will look sympathetically on such requests but each will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Any requests should be submitted as a change request through the Royal Society's Flexi-Grant grants management system.