Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Physics Finances 2010/11

The finances for 2010/11 have now been released. it was a good year for physics. Teh headline resutls are:

£1m operatingsurplus We had a plan for £0.5m suprlus, but exceeded the the plan substantially
£5m gross surplus We ahve contributed £5m to the university of whcih £4m is our share of Univeristy running costs.
Grant income on target at £7m We have demanding targets for grant activity. We won new awards of £7m last year, but the main figure we are judged by is the activity each year from our entire grant portfolio. The figure of £7m exlcludes capital items which add a furhter £3m
Increased charges to grants The main reason for the good performance is that a higher proportion of our staff costs (academic and support) have been charged to grants.
46% Staff on grants On average 46% of academic staff salary costs are charged to research grants. This is PI time, plus fellowships, MPAGs etc. Quite impressive, but it also shows how important research grants are for the department.
Increased costs next year Looking ahead we will ahve to pay extra space charges for the new building plus depreciation on the new microscopes. This year's finances give soem reassurance that we can afford it.
Increased research grant target Last year we had new awards of £7m whcich matched our spend of £7m from our portfolio. While that will maintain the status quo, Our research grant target for next year is £8.3m !!

 

Having a surplus and being ahead of plan are not particularly desirable as an ends in themselves, however they serve to reinforce the fact that we are a well run, profitable department that is an assett to the University. In our various negotiations with the department this is invaluable.