Manage research funds
The University of Bern instructs all researchers to manage research funds clearly and correctly in accordance with the legal requirements. At the beginning of and during the employment relationship at the University of Bern, all research credits from on-going or new projects must be reported to the Finance Office. An application must be made to open an external funding credit which will be used to conclude the research projects. An overview of the credit is guaranteed at all times. The contributions paid out are transferred from the creditor to the recipient via an account of the Bern financial administration.
Advisory Services
The relevant staff in the Finance Office will be happy to advise you in all matters relating to project credits and the administration of external funding. For matters concerning the appointment of employees using external funding credits, please contact the Human Resources Office.
Overhead fees
No more overhead fees for research collaborations with business partners, but higher rates for contract research and service projects
The new overhead regulation came into force in September 2015. Until then, the University of Bern charged overhead of 5% for research projects with business partners, regardless of the type of cooperation. Now, this charge is differentiated as follows: For research collaborations (pursuant to Article 7 of the Directive), no overhead needs to be charged to business partners. However, for contract research and service projects (Article 8), an overhead charge of 20% (laboratory infrastructures) and 10% (all other projects) shall be levied, respectively. In this way, the rates have been brought more into line with those applied in the major universities. If you have any questions regarding overhead, you can contact either Unitectra or the Legal Service, who will assist you in negotiating contracts.