Co-Investigators are normally expected to be employed by an organisation that has the capacity to support the research. These organisations will normally be expected to meet the same requirements as Lead Organisations in regard to Ability to Deliver, Governance and Control, Financial Stability, Sub-Contract Management and Legal Registration (described above in Question 1), but not necessarily to the same extent. If the project is awarded funding, due diligence checks will be undertaken on the Co-Investigators’ organisation. Please contact us if you have any questions about these criteria.
If a Co-Investigator is not employed by an eligible organisations, there may be other ways to involve them in the project:
- If the Lead Organisation is willing, it could employ the person as a Researcher or Co-Investigator for the duration of the project. Their involvement should be described in the Case for Support, and a Letter of Support must be provided by the Lead Organisation to confirm the arrangements.
- If the person is a consultant or contracted researcher in their home country, it may be possible to include them in the project as a consultant or contracted researcher, rather than as a Co-Investigator. Consultants or contracted researchers provide advice and a service for a fee, but are not responsible for the development of the project or for the outcomes. Provided arrangements are made in accordance with applicable law, the use of a consultant or contracted researcher is permitted, but the Funding Panel may look closely at whether the use of a consultant or contracted researcher is good value for money, whether there are any ethical or safeguarding implications, whether there are any legal or procurement implications, and whether this is suitable for the activities and the time commitment described. The use of a consultant or contracted researcher should be clearly described in the Case for Support.
Co-Investigators can be based in almost any country in the world. There are special funding rules for Co-Investigators from high income countries (including the UK), China and India – please contact us in advance for advice.
Please do not include too many Co-Investigators on a project. A contract has to be signed by all organisations involved in the project, and having many Co-Investigators from different organisations can delay the project’s start date.