Funding
17
Section 3
n
R&D Tax Relief
Some corporate funders may be collaborating with you on the basis that
they will be able to obtain tax relief and allowances for the research. R&D
has a specific statutory meaning for the purpose of tax relief, which may
not be the same as what you think of as R&D. They may therefore be very
keen that the Project definition is worded carefully to ensure that it ties in
with the statutory definition of R&D.
They may, in particular, be looking to claim R&D tax relief in relation to
some of their costs of employing your institution as a sub-contractor.
These reliefs can be particularly attractive for smaller companies. They
will, therefore, be particularly concerned to negotiate the wording of the
Research Contract to ensure that they get these reliefs.
• Unique position
• Rare resources/skills
• Reputation
If the institution is a leader in the
field or is having to decline other
work to accept the contract, it
can negotiate its position.
• IP (rights to)
• Publications (restrictions upon)
These are the "opportunity
costs" that the institution will
incur if it is not able to have
any rights to IP or results arising
from the contract.
Premium for taking the contract (known as profit)
Extra/additional aspects arising from the contract (known as
Recognition or Compensation Costs)
