Going forward the Cover Letter will include a red-yellow-green stoplight indicator of budget health on both a department level and a project level.

The point of having two budget health indicators is to capture two key factors.

• First, the impact of the project on the Department as a whole. This indicator measures the impact beyond the project and considers the time fixed personnel contribute (co-finance - without pay) to the project will limit them from contributing time (paid or otherwise) in other projects.
• Second, the project health on its own, i.e., without considering the effect of co-financing with hours from fixed personnel.

Additional adjustments
The indicators have been adjusted, making it easier to achieve yellow and green project budget health indicators.

Finally, a thorough description of the calculations behind the indicators have been added to the Cover Letter. This should make it easier to adjust your project budgets as needed.

The management group would like to acknowledge how well the workflow has been received within the department, and how quickly you've incorporated it into your own work with project applications.

The workflow and especially the ECE Cover Letter has made obtaining approvals and signatures from the Head of Department easier, and helped ensure correct registration and archiving of project applications in WorkZone and ReAp (Research Applications).

Further information
You can find additional information on this site: Management of externally funded projects at ECE.

Here you’ll find a direct download link to the Cover Letter, as well as an easily digestible 1 page PDF outlining the workflow for Management of Externally Funded Projects at ECE.

If you have any questions you’re welcome to address them to Deputy Head of department for talent development and external funding, Daniel Enrique Lucani Rötter daniel.lucani@ece.au.dk