International Research Management Certification — Professional

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1. Module 1

   1

   1 lesson · 8 h

   1. Locked.Four systems, one project8 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [R] Describe the costing model, indirect cost treatment, time-recording requirement, audit trigger and reporting cycle of the EU, UK, Canadian, Australian and US systems.
      • [An] Given a five-partner project, determine which funder's rules govern each cost, activity and reporting obligation.
      • [An] Identify a conflict between two funders' rules and state whether it is reconcilable, and how.
      • [A] Build a project-level rules map before a project starts.
      • [R] Explain any one system to a colleague from another, without using that system's own jargon.

2. Module 2

   2

   1 lesson · 7 h

   1. Locked.UK: fEC, TRAC and the Funding Service7 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [R] State that UK research costs are computed on full economic costing (fEC) using the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) methodology, and that UKRI funds research grants at 80% of fEC as the standard position, with the organisation finding the balance.
      • [R] Name the principal exceptions to 80%: 100% fEC for equipment for instrument development; 100% of direct costs for public partnerships, for DNA sequencing via ineligible organisations, and for international co-leads.
      • [A] Read a UK fEC costing and identify the directly incurred, directly allocated and indirect components.
      • [An] Explain to a non-UK partner why the UK institution appears to be "contributing" 20% and what that actually means.
      • [R] State the current status of the UKRI Funding Service (TFS) and the Je-S transition: all new awards managed on TFS since December 2024; legacy awards migrating in stages across 2026; migrated awards read-only in Je-S with TFS as master record; wider transition expected to complete by the start of FY 2027–28 (6 April 2027); Je-S not yet fully retired.
      • [A] Determine, for a given award, which system holds the master record.

3. Module 3

   3

   1 lesson · 6 h

   1. Locked.Canada, Australia and the wider funder map6 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [R] Name the three Canadian agencies — CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC — and state that the governing financial instrument is the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration (TAGFA), implemented 1 April 2020, which replaced the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide (TAFAG).
      • [An] Explain the practical consequence of TAGFA being principles-based rather than a list of eligible and ineligible expenses, and how a practitioner justifies a cost under a principles-based regime.
      • [R] State that the Australian Research Council Amendment (Review Response) Act 2024 came into force 1 July 2024, establishing an independent ARC Board which approves most National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) grants instead of the Minister, with the Minister retaining approval of the funding guidelines subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
      • [R] Identify the ARC Discussion Paper: A New Plan for ARC-Funded Research (25 February 2025) as a live reform process whose outcome is not yet settled.
      • [A] Locate the current governing document for a given funder and confirm its version before relying on it.

4. Module 4

   4

   1 lesson · 9 h

   1. Locked.Horizon Europe I: the grant agreement and participation9 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [A] Navigate the Model Grant Agreement and the Annotated Grant Agreement to locate the provision governing a question.
      • [An] Distinguish the binding force of the MGA from the explanatory status of the AGA.
      • [A] Determine the correct participation status for an entity — beneficiary, affiliated entity, associated partner, or subcontractor — and state the consequences for funding, reporting and IP.
      • [A] Determine what requires an amendment and what does not.
      • [R] Describe the payment architecture: prefinancing, interim payments, the retention mechanism, the mutual insurance mechanism, and final payment.
      • [R] Identify the open science obligations attaching to a Horizon Europe grant and their reporting consequences.

5. Module 5

   5

   1 lesson · 9 h

   1. Locked.Horizon Europe II: cost models, records and reporting9 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [An] Determine whether a call is actual cost or lump sum and state every consequence for budgeting, records, reporting and risk.
      • [R] State that lump sum is not the default in Horizon Europe and is applied topic by topic as specified in the work programme.
      • [A] Construct a Horizon Europe budget in the correct cost categories for an actual-cost grant.
      • [A] Establish compliant records of time worked for personnel costs.
      • [An] Explain the structural difference between the EU time-recording requirement and the US effort certification requirement under 2 CFR §200.430(g), and identify the errors that follow from conflating them.
      • [A] Manage a reporting period end to end: periodic report, deliverables, cost claim, payment.
      • [A] Determine whether a Certificate on the Financial Statements is required.

6. Module 6

   6

   1 lesson · 8 h

   1. Locked.Consortium agreements and DESCA8 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [R] Explain why a consortium agreement exists and how it differs from the grant agreement in parties, subject matter and enforcement.
      • [R] Describe DESCA accurately: the model consortium agreement for Horizon Europe, current version DESCA Horizon Europe 2.1 (February 2026) covering both actual-cost and lump-sum grants; the variant DESCA HE AP 2.0 (August 2025) for projects with Associated Partners; published by the DESCA Core Group — ANRT, EARTO, KoWi, LERU, VTT, ZENIT — coordinated by Fraunhofer and the Helmholtz Association; freely available.
      • [An] Identify where a proposed consortium agreement conflicts with the grant agreement and state which prevails.
      • [A] Select among DESCA's optional provisions for a described consortium and justify each choice.
      • [A] Draft the governance provisions appropriate to a 14-partner consortium.
      • [An] Evaluate a coordinator's liability exposure under a proposed financial provision.
      • [A] Manage a partner default or withdrawal.

7. Module 7

   7

   1 lesson · 6 h

   1. Locked.Background, results and access rights6 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [A] Compile a background identification and exclusion list before signature.
      • [An] Explain why background must be settled before the project starts and what happens when it is not.
      • [A] Construct an access rights regime appropriate to the partners' commercial positions.
      • [An] Distinguish access for implementation from access for exploitation, and royalty-free from fair and reasonable conditions, and apply each correctly.
      • [A] Handle access rights for affiliated entities and their survival after the project.
      • [An] Identify the point at which an IP question requires technology transfer or legal input.

8. Module 8

   8

   1 lesson · 10 h

   1. Locked.Cross-border subawards and the flow-down problem10 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [An] Apply 2 CFR §200.331 to determine whether a cross-border arrangement is a subaward or a procurement, on substance over form.
      • [A] Assemble a subaward containing every §200.332(b) data element.
      • [An] Identify which US prime-funder requirements cannot meaningfully be flowed down to a partner outside the US, and distinguish substantive requirements from administrative artefacts of the US system.
      • [A] Design an alternative assurance mechanism where §200.332(g) audit verification is impossible because the partner is not subject to Subpart F.
      • [A] Apply §200.414(f) correctly to a foreign subrecipient's indirect costs, including the up to 15 percent de minimis election and the prohibition on pass-through entities requiring a lower rate.
      • [An] Map the EU participation-status decision (beneficiary / affiliated entity / subcontractor) onto the US substance-based decision, and identify where the mapping breaks.
      • [A] Structure a UKRI international co-lead arrangement and state its funding basis.
      • [An] Resolve a conflict between a prime funder's requirement and a partner's national law.

9. Module 9

   9

   1 lesson · 6 h

   1. Locked.Partner due diligence and assurance without an audit6 h · Locked

      On completion you will be able to

      • [A] Conduct proportionate due diligence on a prospective partner institution: legal existence, ownership and control, financial standing, governance, research integrity record, and administrative capacity.
      • [An] Assess whether a partner can actually meet the administrative requirements being imposed, and redesign the arrangement if not.
      • [A] Design monitoring proportionate to risk, distance and capacity, using the §200.332(f) tools where the prime is US-funded.
      • [A] Commission and scope an agreed-upon-procedures engagement.
      • [An] Evaluate evidence in an unfamiliar national format and determine whether it is sufficient.
      • [A] Document a due diligence decision so that it can be defended years later.

10. Module 10

    10

    1 lesson · 6 h

    1. Locked.Currency, exchange rate rules and treasury6 h · Locked

       On completion you will be able to

       • [A] Determine the currency in which each obligation arises and who bears the exchange risk.
       • [A] Apply a funder's exchange rate rule to a reported cost.
       • [R] State that 2 CFR §200.440 Exchange rates is a prior written approval item under §200.407.
       • [An] Structure a budget to manage exchange exposure without breaching eligibility rules.
       • [A] Manage payment mechanics to a partner in a country with exchange controls or restricted convertibility.
       • [An] Explain the structural asymmetry between a coordinator in a stable currency and a partner in a volatile one, and design a mitigation.

11. Module 11

    11

    1 lesson · 6 h

    1. Locked.Tax across borders — and when to stop6 h · Locked

       On completion you will be able to

       • [An] Identify that a VAT or equivalent indirect tax question has arisen on a cross-border research payment, and frame it correctly.
       • [R] State the general principle that non-recoverable VAT may be an eligible cost while recoverable VAT is not, and that the answer varies by country and recipient.
       • [An] Identify withholding tax exposure on a cross-border payment for services and the potential role of a double taxation treaty.
       • [An] Identify permanent establishment risk arising from staff working abroad.
       • [R] Identify the employment and social security questions raised by staff working in another jurisdiction.
       • [A] Escalate correctly: frame the question, identify the decision needed, and route it to counsel before the transaction.

12. Module 12

    12

    1 lesson · 9 h

    1. Locked.Sanctions, exclusion screening and controlled technology9 h · Locked

       On completion you will be able to

       • [An] Determine which sanctions regimes are engaged by a described collaboration, by reference to the parties' nationalities, the location of activity, the currency of payment and the individuals involved.
       • [R] Distinguish sanctions, export control and research security and state what each regulates.
       • [A] Perform and document an exclusion check: SAM.gov under 2 CFR §200.214 and §200.332(a) for US-funded work, and the EU Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) [VERIFY scope and access method].
       • [An] Identify a potential controlled-technology transfer, including transfer to a foreign national within one's own country, and escalate before any transfer occurs.
       • [A] Document a screening decision to a standard that survives review years later.
       • [An] Recognise the limits of the practitioner's competence and escalate.

13. Module 13

    13

    1 lesson · 6 h

    1. Locked.Foreign influence, disclosure and dual appointments6 h · Locked

       On completion you will be able to

       • [A] Determine what each funder in a multi-funder project requires to be disclosed, by whom, and when.
       • [An] Identify undue foreign influence risks in a proposed arrangement.
       • [A] Structure a dual or joint appointment: the written arrangement between institutions, disclosure in both jurisdictions, conflict of commitment, and the IP position.
       • [An] Identify where two jurisdictions' disclosure requirements conflict or where compliance with one creates exposure under the other.
       • [A] Advise a researcher on disclosure without giving legal advice.

14. Module 14

    14

    1 lesson · 8 h

    1. Locked.Personal data across borders8 h · Locked

       On completion you will be able to

       • [A] Identify every transfer of personal data outside the originating jurisdiction in a described project.
       • [A] Select and document an appropriate GDPR Chapter V transfer mechanism.
       • [R] Cite the standard contractual clauses correctly: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 of 4 June 2021, OJ L 199, 7 June 2021, pp. 31–61, in force 27 June 2021, with four modules (controller→controller; controller→processor; processor→processor; processor→controller), repealing Decisions 2001/497/EC and 2010/87/EU with effect from 27 September 2021.
       • [An] State the current posture of the EU–US Data Privacy Framework — the 10 July 2023 adequacy decision remains in force; the General Court dismissed Latombe v Commission (T-553/23) on 3 September 2025; an appeal was lodged on 31 October 2025 and is registered as Case C-703/25 P — and explain why an arrangement relying solely on it needs a fallback.
       • [An] Distinguish anonymised from pseudonymised data and apply the correct regime.
       • [A] Allocate controller, joint controller and processor roles across a consortium and reflect them in the agreements.
       • [An] Determine when a research derogation applies and when it does not.
       • [A] Conduct a transfer risk assessment.

15. Module 15

    15

    1 lesson · 6 h

    1. Locked.ODA-funded research and equitable partnership6 h · Locked

       On completion you will be able to

       • [A] Determine whether a funding stream is ODA-eligible and what that constrains, and locate the OECD DAC definition and recipient list to check.
       • [An] Identify the structural inequities in a described Northern-led consortium — budget concentration, decision rights, authorship, data and sample ownership, administrative burden — and propose specific remedies.
       • [A] Design and budget capacity-strengthening activity as a project component, distinguishing training individuals from strengthening institutions.
       • [A] Manage the administrative realities of a partner who cannot pre-finance and has no institutional audit.
       • [An] Build continuity and exit planning into a partnership from the outset, using the UK GCRF/Newton Fund closures as the case study.
       • [R] Identify safeguarding obligations and access-and-benefit-sharing obligations under the Nagoya Protocol where genetic resources cross borders [VERIFY before detailed teaching].