Research support

Grant Record Letter

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Once all required clearances have been provided to UQ R&I, all necessary agreements have been executed, and any special conditions have been met, the successful grant can be operationalised at UQ. This involves the issue of a Grant Record Letter (GRL) by the Research Office.

The GRL is a document that formally establishes your project in the University’s Research Management System. It is provided to the lead UQ researcher, the School/Centre/Institute, and Contract and Grants Accounting. The purpose of the GRL is to circulate important documents and information about the management of the grant. 

Account numbers in UQ’s finance system, UniFi, are normally generated following the issue of the GRL. Grant expenditure can then officially start.

You may be eligible to gain interim access to a Research Project account within UniFi via the Early Account Opening process, which allows 'early access' to a UQ account for research projects, normally to facilitate project ramp-up. This early acount opening occurs prior to the UQ Grant Record Letter (GRL) being issued. Project ramp-up involves early stage planning and mobilisation before the official start date of the project and before expenditure begins, for example to faciliate an account number for recruitment processes. 

Early account opening for a research project shows on the MyBalance landing page as a status of 'Pending GRL'. Early account opening must be managed carefully and proactively. The Early Account Opening Troubleshooting Guide, located on our website, provides useful advice for researchers, and can be used in conversations about account establishment and forward budgeting in MyBalance with the researcher's UQ Senior Management Accountant (SMA) or Management Accountant (MA).

Please check the SMA/MA comments (in MyBalance) and/or consult with your SMA/MA to discuss any 'Pending GRL' accounts. While early account opening is intended to facilitate early ramp-up of your project, especially recruitment, spending still needs to comply with the conditions of your funding provider.