Last Updated on 15/03/2024
The Lancaster Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) programme has a limited amount of funds which can be used in some cases to support research expenses. Research expenses should be avoided wherever possible and if they are necessary must be kept to a minimum. Due to the limited budget for these expenses, it may not always be possible to reimburse all expenses. Where expenses are approved, these are charged to the trainee’s £500 training budget. Please note that £100 of the training budget is ring-fenced for the payment of the involvement of experts by experience in research.
Policy details
Trainees are required to outline the anticipated costs within their research proposals and seek approval from the Research Director before any costs are committed to. Approval of the research proposal does not constitute approval of the expenses outlined in the form.
Examples of the types of costs this is likely to be, and guidance about how this is requested and monitored, are included in the table below.
| Type of cost | Details | Action required by trainee |
| Postage | Postage for envelopes sent from the university does not incur a charge(1). | None |
| Postage for envelopes sent from off campus are to be purchased by the Research Coordinator. | Email Research Coordinator to request the stamps that are required a week in advance. | |
| Freepost labels to be added for participants to return post to the trainee are costed at the price of a standard second class stamp per label. | Trainees are given sheets of Freepost labels. The trainee should inform the research coordinator if any are not returned by potential participants. | |
| Stationery | A4, A5 and small white envelopes are available – these are costed at 2p per envelope | Collect from Research Coordinator. For larger quantities email in advance. |
| Travel to research interviews | Details for any travel outside the North-West region(2) must be approved in advance | Email the Research Coordinator with the details. Complete and return the NHS expenses form to Programme Assistant – Placements. Include the county on the form. |
| Travel for research participants to attend interviews | Participants are reimbursed for their travel for research interviews up to a maximum of £20, subject to the approval of the Research Director. | Guidelines for this process are covered within this policy |
| Outgoing mobile phone calls | Any outgoing calls must be approved by the Research Director in advance. All trainees should use either a landline within HIO or Teams for research interviews where possible, subject to ethics approval. | An email must be sent to the Research Coordinator in advance of any outgoing call to seek approval for the cost. A mobile phone handset can be borrowed from the programme. |
| Translation | Costs for translation must be approved in advance | Inform the Research Coordinator of the translation required and a quote before the booking is made. |
| Prize draws and thank you gifts for participants | It is unlikely that prize draws and thank you gifts will be funded | Inform the Research Coordinator in advance |
(1) The 1st and 2nd class labels are only postage paid when sent from the university. For items sent outside the university standard stamps are required. For participants to return documents the freepost address envelopes should be used.
(2) For these purposes the North-West region is defined as Cumbria, Cheshire/Wirral, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire
Reimbursement of expenses incurred by trainees for travel to research interviews
Trainees must use the NHS travel expense claim form for this expenditure and return this to the Programme Assistant – Placements.
| Mileage to academic teaching | No payment |
| Mileage to and from placement | At public transport rate (for distance exceeding home to base) |
| Mileage to clinical research | At public transport rate (for distance exceeding home to base) |
| Mileage within placement | At official rate |
In all cases the trainee’s base is the University teaching site. It is appreciated that a number of trainees who live some distance from their base may feel disadvantaged but the above arrangements are consistent with current employment arrangements. When trainees visit participants for their research work or go to a site to conduct research for their thesis research, claims can only be made when the distance is greater than home to base, and then only at public transport rate. For example, if a trainee lives 50 miles from Lancaster but is collecting data for research at a hospital base (or participant’s house) that is 48 miles from home, then no claim could be made. If the hospital base (or participant’s house) is 52 miles from home, then a claim can be made for 52-50 = 2 miles at public transport rate.
Trainees should always attempt to find, and use, the cheapest form of transport. Claims may not be reimbursed where this is not the case.
Reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by research participants
We feel that it is important we allow trainees to offer reimbursement to potential research participants for travel where possible. In order to reimburse any travel expenses incurred trainees need to follow the following procedure:
- Email the Research Coordinator with the details of the anticipated travel who will seek approval from the Research Director.
- Ask the participant for an estimate of the expense they will incur to travel to and from the interview. At this point, if the participant intends to travel by public transport, check whether they are able to provide us with the receipts/tickets for their travel at the interview; for bus and train travel the participants may need their ticket for the return journey. If they are unable to provide receipts/tickets at the interview unfortunately we would not be able to reimburse their expenses there and then. If this is the case collect a copy of the business expense claim form and a freepost envelope for the form to be returned in from the office. When we receive the completed form from the participant we will authorise it and send it to the Finance Office to be processed for payment. Participants who have travelled by car can claim to be reimbursed for their total mileage at the 45p/mile rate by ticking the appropriate box on the receipt template.
- Inform the Research Coordinator of the sum you will require and the date you will need to collect it on giving at least 1 week’s notice. We are only able to reimburse expenses up to a maximum of £20 for each participant per interview.
- Collect the funds from the Research Coordinator and sign a sheet to confirm that you have received them.
- The Research Coordinator provides a ‘receipt’ for the participant to sign at the interview in order to confirm they have received payment for their expenses at the interview.
- Return the ‘receipt’ signed by the participants, alongside any receipts for public transport fares, to the office within 1 week of the collection date. If the participant has travelled by car they do not need to provide receipts for petrol and should be reimbursed using the 45p/mile rate.
No Funding Available
Apart from exceptional circumstances there is no budget to transcribe interview recordings.
Mobile phones
The course has a number of mobile phones for trainees to use to receive calls from participants in relation to the research they carry out on the course, therefore negating the need to give out either a personal or office number. If trainees intend to make longer outgoing calls it is possible to book a meeting room in HIO and use a landline for this purpose. If this is not possible trainees should use Teams for research interviews subject to ethical approval. The handsets are contracted to the course and if any calls are made on the handsets the course receives an itemised bill outlining the usage.
If you wish to borrow a phone contact the admin team.
Training budget
Please note that any costs that are incurred for research purposes will be included in your training budget.
| Tariff information | |
| Calls to landlines, EE and Orange mobile numbers | 2p |
| Calls to other mobile networks | 5p |
| Texts | 3p |
The Lancaster Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) programme has a limited amount of funds which can be used in some cases to support research expenses. Research expenses should be avoided wherever possible and if they are necessary must be kept to a minimum. Due to the limited budget for these expenses, it may not always be possible to reimburse all expenses. Any expenses that are approved are charged to the trainee’s £400 training budget.
Policy details
Trainees are required to outline the anticipated costs within their research proposals and seek approval from the Research Director before any costs are committed to. Approval of the research proposal does not constitute approval of the expenses outlined in the form..
Examples of the types of costs this is likely to be, and guidance about how this is requested and monitored, are included in the table below.
| Type of cost | Details | Action required by trainee |
| Postage | Postage for envelopes sent from the university does not incur a charge(1). | None |
| Postage for envelopes sent from off campus are to be purchased by the Research Coordinator. | Email Research Coordinator to request the stamps that are required a week in advance. | |
| Freepost labels to be added for participants to return post to the trainee are costed at the price of a standard second class stamp per label. | Trainees are given sheets of Freepost labels. The trainee should inform the research coordinator if any are not returned by potential participants. | |
| Stationery | A4, A5 and small white envelopes are available – these are costed at 2p per envelope | Collect from Research Coordinator. For larger quantities email in advance. |
| Travel to research interviews | Details for any travel outside the North-West region(2) must be approved in advance | Email the Research Coordinator with the details. Complete and return the NHS expenses form to Programme Assistant – Placements. Include the county on the form. |
| Travel for research participants to attend interviews | Participants are reimbursed for their travel for research interviews up to a maximum of £20, subject to the approval of the Research Director. | Guidelines for this process are covered within this policy |
| Outgoing mobile phone calls | Any outgoing calls must be approved by the Research Director in advance. All trainees should use either a landline within HIO or Teams for research interviews where possible, subject to ethics approval. | An email must be sent to the Research Coordinator in advance of any outgoing call to seek approval for the cost. A mobile phone handset can be borrowed from the programme. |
| Translation | Costs for translation must be approved in advance | Inform the Research Coordinator of the translation required and a quote before the booking is made. |
| Prize draws for participants | It is unlikely that prize draws will be funded | Inform the Research Coordinator in advance |
(1) The 1st and 2nd class labels are only postage paid when sent from the university. For items sent outside the university standard stamps are required. For participants to return documents the freepost address envelopes should be used.
(2) For these purposes the North-West region is defined as Cumbria, Cheshire/Wirral, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire
Reimbursement of expenses incurred by trainees for travel to research interviews
Trainees must use the NHS travel expense claim form for this expenditure and return this to the Programme Assistant – Placements.
| Mileage to academic teaching | No payment |
| Mileage to and from placement | At public transport rate (for distance exceeding home to base) |
| Mileage to clinical research | At public transport rate (for distance exceeding home to base) |
| Mileage within placement | At official rate |
In all cases the trainee’s base is the University teaching site. It is appreciated that a number of trainees who live some distance from their base may feel disadvantaged but the above arrangements are consistent with current employment arrangements. When trainees visit participants for their research work or go to a site to conduct research for their thesis research, claims can only be made when the distance is greater than home to base, and then only at public transport rate. For example, if a trainee lives 50 miles from Lancaster but is collecting data for research at a hospital base (or participant’s house) that is 48 miles from home, then no claim could be made. If the hospital base (or participant’s house) is 52 miles from home, then a claim can be made for 52-50 = 2 miles at public transport rate.
Trainees should always attempt to find, and use, the cheapest form of transport. Claims may not be reimbursed where this is not the case.
Reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by research participants
We feel that it is important we allow trainees to offer reimbursement to potential research participants for travel where possible. In order to reimburse any travel expenses incurred trainees need to follow the following procedure:
- Email the Research Coordinator with the details of the anticipated travel who will seek approval from the Research Director.
- Ask the participant for an estimate of the expense they will incur to travel to and from the interview. At this point, if the participant intends to travel by public transport, check whether they are able to provide us with the receipts/tickets for their travel at the interview; for bus and train travel the participants may need their ticket for the return journey. If they are unable to provide receipts/tickets at the interview unfortunately we would not be able to reimburse their expenses there and then. If this is the case collect a copy of the business expense claim form and a freepost envelope for the form to be returned in from the office. When we receive the completed form from the participant we will authorise it and send it to the Finance Office to be processed for payment. Participants who have travelled by car can claim to be reimbursed for their total mileage at the 45p/mile rate by ticking the appropriate box on the receipt template.
- Inform the Research Coordinator of the sum you will require and the date you will need to collect it on giving at least 1 week’s notice. We are only able to reimburse expenses up to a maximum of £20 for each participant per interview.
- Collect the funds from the Research Coordinator and sign a sheet to confirm that you have received them.
- The Research Coordinator provides a ‘receipt’ for the participant to sign at the interview in order to confirm they have received payment for their expenses at the interview.
- Return the ‘receipt’ signed by the participants, alongside any receipts for public transport fares, to the office within 1 week of the collection date. If the participant has travelled by car they do not need to provide receipts for petrol and should be reimbursed using the 45p/mile rate.
No Funding Available
Apart from exceptional circumstances there is no budget for the following:
- to transcribe interview recordings
- to fund ‘thank you gifts’ to participants
Mobile phones
The course has a number of mobile phones for trainees to use to receive calls from participants in relation to the research they carry out on the course, therefore negating the need to give out either a personal or office number. If trainees intend to make longer outgoing calls it is possible to book a meeting room in HIO and use a landline for this purpose. If this is not possible trainees should use Teams for research interviews subject to ethical approval. The handsets are contracted to the course and if any calls are made on the handsets the course receives an itemised bill outlining the usage.
If you wish to borrow a phone contact the admin team.
Training budget
Please note that any costs that are incurred for research purposes will be included in your training budget.
| Tariff information: | |
| Call to landlines | 3p |
| T-Mobile group | 2.4p |
| T-Mobile other | 4.6p |
| X network | 13.8p |
| Texts | 3p and 4.6p |
Trainees may be allowed up to a maximum of £300 to cover costs incurred for the research they conduct throughout the course of training that have been approved by the Research Director. They are also required to outline the anticipated costs within their research proposals.
Examples of the types of costs this is likely to be, and guidance about how this is requested and monitored, are included in the table below.
| Type of cost | Details | Action required by trainee |
|---|---|---|
| Postage | Postage for envelopes sent from the university are not charged(1). | None |
| Postage for envelopes sent from off campus are to be purchased by the Research Coordinator. | Email Research Coordinator to request the stamps that are required a week in advance. | |
| Freepost labels to be added for participants to return post to the trainee are costed at the price of a standard second class stamp per label. | Trainees are given sheets of Freepost labels and these are charged to their budget. The trainee should inform the research coordinator if any are not returned by potential participants. | |
| Stationery | A4, A5 and small white envelopes are available – these are costed at 2p per envelope | Collect from Research Coordinator. For larger quantities email in advance. |
| Travel to research interviews | For travel within the North-West region(2) costs are not charged to the trainee’s research budget | Complete and return the NHS expenses form to Programme Assistant – Placements. Include the county on the form. |
| For travel outside the Northwest region the NHS costings(3) are used | Complete and return the NHS expenses form to Programme Assistant – Placements, include county on the form. Also complete and return the research travel form outlining the out of area travel to the Research Coordinator. | |
| Travel for research participants to attend interviews | Participants are reimbursed for their travel for research interviews up to a maximum of £20. All travel for participants is costed against the trainee’s research budget. | Guidelines for this process are covered within this policy |
| Outgoing mobile phone calls | Any outgoing calls made are included in the research budget. It is possible to use video conferencing for research interviews subject to ethics approval. | An email must be sent to the Research Coordinator in advance of any outgoing call to seek approval for the cost. A mobile phone handset can be collected from the Research Coordinator. |
| Psychometric tests | If the purchase of a psychometric test is required the test will remain the property of the programme and the cost will not be deducted. However any costs for administrations of the test will be taken from the trainee’s research budget. | Send an email to the Research Coordinator with a link for the test to be purchased from and the number of administrations required |
| Translation | Costs for translation will be taken from the trainee’s research budget | Inform the Research Coordinator of the translation required and a quote before the booking is made. |
| Prize draws for participants | If a prize draw is given this will need to be costed to the budget. | Inform the Research Coordinator in advance |
(1) The 1st and 2nd class labels are only postage paid when sent from the university. For items sent outside the university standard stamps are required. For participants to return documents the freepost address envelopes should be used.
(2) For these purposes the North-West region is defined as Cumbria, Cheshire/Wirral, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire
(3) LSCFT NHS trust reimburse mileage at a rate of 28p/mile
Reimbursement of expenses incurred by trainees for travel to research interviews
Trainees must use the NHS travel expense claim form for this expenditure and return this to the Programme Assistant – Placements.
| Mileage to academic teaching | No payment |
| Mileage to and from placement | At public transport rate (for distance exceeding home to base) |
| Mileage to clinical research | At public transport rate (for distance exceeding home to base) |
| Mileage within placement | At official rate |
In all cases the trainee’s base is the University teaching site. It is appreciated that a number of trainees who live some distance from their base may feel disadvantaged but the above arrangements are consistent with current employment arrangements. When trainees visit participants for their research work or go to a site to conduct research for their thesis research, claims can only be made when the distance is greater than home to base, and then only at public transport rate. For example, if a trainee lives 50 miles from Lancaster but is collecting data for research at a hospital base (or participant’s house) that is 48 miles from home, then no claim could be made. If the hospital base (or participant’s house) is 52 miles from home, then a claim can be made for 52-50 = 2 miles at public transport rate.
Trainees should always attempt to find, and use, the cheapest form of transport. Claims may not be reimbursed where this is not the case.
Reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by research participants
We feel that it is important we allow trainees to offer reimbursement to potential research participants for travel. In order to reimburse any travel expenses incurred trainees need to follow the following procedure:
- Ask the participant for an estimate of the expense they will incur to travel to and from the interview. At this point, if the participant intends to travel by public transport, check whether they are able to provide us with the receipts/tickets for their travel at the interview; for bus and train travel the participants may need their ticket for the return journey. If they are unable to provide receipts/tickets at the interview unfortunately we would not be able to reimburse their expenses there and then. If this is the case collect a copy of the business expense claim form and a freepost envelope for the form to be returned in from the office. When we receive the completed form from the participant we will authorise it and send it to the Finance Office to be processed for payment. Participants who have travelled by car can claim to be reimbursed for their total mileage at the 45p/mile rate by ticking the appropriate box on the receipt template.
- Inform the Research Coordinator of the sum you will require and the date you will need to collect it on giving at least 1 week’s notice. We are only able to reimburse expenses up to a maximum of £20 for each participant per interview.
- Collect the funds from the Research Coordinator and sign a sheet to confirm that you have received them.
- The Research Coordinator provides a ‘receipt’ for the participant to sign at the interview in order to confirm they have received payment for their expenses at the interview.
- Return the ‘receipt’ signed by the participants, alongside any receipts for public transport fares, to the office within 1 week of the collection date. If the participant has travelled by car they do not need to provide receipts for petrol and should be reimbursed using the 45p/mile rate.
No Funding Available
Apart from exceptional circumstances there is no budget for the following:
- to transcribe interview recordings
- to fund ‘thank you gifts’ to participants
Mobile phones
The course has a number of mobile phones for trainees to use to receive calls from participants in relation to the research they carry out on the course, therefore negating the need to give out either a personal or office number. If trainees intend to make longer outgoing calls it is possible to book a meeting room in Furness and use a landline for this purpose. There is also the option of video conferencing subject to ethical approval. The handsets are contracted to the course and if any calls are made on the handsets the course receives an itemised bill outlining the usage.
If you wish to borrow a phone collect a handset from the Research Coordinator.
| Tariff information: | |
| Call to landlines | 3p |
| T-Mobile group | 2.4p |
| T-Mobile other | 4.6p |
| X network | 13.8p |
| Texts | 3p and 4.6p |