Dear all

 

There appears to be a number of research councils who are now transferring administrative and financial responsibility for the DSA directly to institutions.  We are currently aware of the AHRC and the ESRC who have taken up this model.  The AHRC have decided to transfer the required funds to the institution, in order to pay suppliers, non-medical helpers etc.  The transfer goes directly into a general account (the same as used for any block grants) as and when requested.  The ESRC work on a reimbursement system, with the College claiming back any deficit spent throughout the year on ESRC DSA.  I’m skipping the details here, however this generally means that DSA goes into a wider pool of money, making our administrative task of getting our hands on the funds more problematic, though this may just be us!  I wonder if this is a problem for other institutions who have a significant proportion of PG research activity. 

 

It would be ideal if someone at the research council was responsible for notifying the allocated Disability Support Officer at the institution when money was being transferred – in the same way that LAs aim to keep DOs in the loop.  No knowledge that the funds have been transferred results in an unnecessary delay for the student.  Has anyone else found this?

 

Best wishes

 

Emma

 

 

 

Emma Price

Disability Co-ordinator

King’s College London