Start-up, review and closure meetings

The aim of the start-up meeting is to help address any queries the PI may have with the administrative tasks for the project and to provide information on what support is available and how to access this support. The meeting is designed to address the key elements of the grant to ensure that everyone is clear about how it will run. Having said this, we recognise that not all grants and not all PIs will require the same level of support so the agenda is designed to be flexible and not every item may be relevant to your grant.

The meeting will generally take place soon after the ‘Award Live’ notification on the Awards Management System is issued. In general terms the meeting will address:

• Funder requirements based on the terms and conditions
• The grant finance/budget: including monitoring, expenditure and any invoicing requirements
• Staff recruitment including consultants and studentships (if applicable)
• Ethical approval (if required)
• Data protection and data management requirements
• Resolve any queries
• Agree frequency and schedule future review meetings

The purpose of the review meeting is to give the PI the opportunity to raise any issues which might impact budget, timescales, or successful completion of the project. It allows additional support needs to be identified and provides the research support team with an oversight of all projects which informs reporting to the Head of School and/or Associate Dean Research.

The frequency of the meetings will depend on the size, complexity, and duration of the project. In general terms the meetings will address:

• Actions form previous meetings
• Project update (timescales, deliverables, outputs)
• Looking ahead to next period (additional support requirements)
• Budget monitoring and forecast
• Risks and issues

The purpose of the pre-closure/closure meeting is to review the key elements of the project, including dissemination of outputs, and to address any issues such as the opportunity to request a costed or no-cost extension. Depending on the length and scale of the project, the meeting could be held anywhere between seven and three months before the project end date.

In general terms the meeting will address:

• Actions from previous meetings
• Project update (timescales, deliverables, outputs)
• Looking ahead to final period
• Budget (grant utilisation)
• Staffing
• Dissemination of research findings
• Knowledge exchange and Impact
• Final closure actions