DAMTP Finance and Research Grants Team

General Finance

DAMTP Departmental Seminars

The DAMTP Department Seminar Budget will fund up to £400 (travel and accommodation) for a visiting speaker. Claims in excess of this will need to be approved in advance.

Meals for Speakers

The DAMTP Seminar budget will cover costs of the host (or hosts - maximum 2) and the speaker only. 'Hosts' can include PhD students or postdocs. Organisers can decide whether one or both hosts are students or postdocs. Allowance is up to £50 per head (including alcohol). Maximum budget for overall hosting meals is £150.

Please refer to 'DAMTP Departmental Seminars' Guidance for more information.

Expense Claims

Staff Expense Claims

Staff on UK payroll (BACS payments) should claim for expenses using the online portal SAP Concur. Link to the portal is available on University Expenses Hub website.

Please see Expense Claims Guidance for Staff document for further information.

Visitor Expense Claims

To be reimbursed please ask your visitor to complete FD1A expense form and send it to DAMTP Finance (finance@damtp.cam.ac.uk) with the original itemised receipts and a redacted bank statement.

Please refer to Expense Claim Guidance for Visitors for more information.

Visitor Expense Claim Form is available here.

Student Expense Claims

Please refer to the 'Time Away from the Department' information on the Post Graduate Office webpage.

Claims must be authorised by your supervisor and include a copy of an authorised Pre-Travel request form.

Please only submit one trip per claim.

Please use original currency paid, as per the receipt. Please do not convert to GBP.

Download Student Expense Claim Form here. If your claim includes a large number of items, please use this template to itemise your receipts. 

Please submit your claim and supporting documents, including the original itemised receipts (credit card slips are insufficient to demonstrate what is being purchased) to finance@damtp.cam.ac.uk.

Key Travel

Key Travel is the University's preferred supplier for travel services. It provides a range of travel services to the University - Air and Rail travel, Hotel Bookings, Visa enquiries, Group Travel and support for travellers (in the event of an emergency).

Staff and students are encouraged to use Key Travel. The advantage is that invoices are paid by the Finance Team - all you need is a purchase order number to check out.

Purchase Orders can be raised by some group administrators and the Finance Team - approval and coding are required.

Please see 'Guidance for Key Travel' for more information.

Research Grants

Grant Applications at DAMTP

The grant application process is managed by the Research Operations Office's Pre-Award Team working closely with staff in Departments. All applications for external research funding must go through the Research Operations Office (ROO).

Notification and Timescales

If you are planning to submit a new application, please complete the DAMTP New Grant Application Notification Form (link below). The form should take no more than 5 minutes to complete and will help us assess the complexity of your proposal and inform the next steps.

Grant Notification Form

Alternatively, you can scan the below QR code to access the form on a phone or tablet.

Notification to apply - 2 months before call close date. It is important DAMTP Grants are notified well in advance, especially if you are preparing a large-scale, complex, collaborative or EU/US Federal proposal.

Applications to calls subject to internal review and selection (by DAMTP Directors Committee, e.g. fellowship schemes) - 6 weeks before call close date

1-week turnaround for selection.

Selected applicants liaise with DAMTP Grants team, no later than 4 weeks before call close date.

Costings to be finalised a minimum of 5 working days before the funder deadline.

ROO deadline - 5 working days before call close date.

N.B. Some EC and US Federal applications must be received by ROO at least 7 working days before the funder deadline. Please plan accordingly and contact grants@damtp.cam.ac.uk, if in doubt.

Please note that ROO require a minimum of 4 weeks' notice of intention to apply, so it is important the above timeframes are adhered to.

Applications that are received late will not be submitted to the funder unless ROO receive a request from the Head of Department.

Detailed ROO guidance on applications process, including deadline calculator, can be found here.

Regular Fellowship Funding Calls 2024-25

During the course of each academic year, there are a number of regular fellowship funding calls that are relevant to DAMTP researchers. The Directors Committee has agreed that details of these fellowships should be made available so that staff can plan applications and understand what, if any, internal selection procedures are in place.

Fellowship funding calls have been divided into three categories:

• Open - no restrictions on the numbers of applications supported by the Department
• Internal Selection - the Directors Committee will review applications and approve support before an application can be submitted to the funder. This will usually be due to the numbers of applications received or restrictions on the numbers of applications that a Department can put forward to the School or the central Research Strategy Office
• By invitation only - the Directors Committee will consider inviting candidates to put forward an application.

All applications must be made via the DAMTP Grants Team (grants@damtp.cam.ac.uk).

The document below is not exhaustive and contains details of fellowship calls that the Department regularly engages with. For the avoidance of doubt, all applications to research fellowship funding must be made via the Department and in collaboration with the Research Grants Team.

Fellowship funding calls 2024-25