An outside organisation may be able to enforce contractual commitments against the University if the University staff member making the commitment had the apparent authority (in the view of the outside organisation) to do so.
All University staff members must take great care not to enter into contractual commitments with outside bodies unless they are fully authorised to do so. This extends beyond contracts of just a financial nature, such as nondisclosure agreements for research work.
Any University member with concerns in this area should consult one of these people:
the relevant School or Professional Service Accountant
Director of Research and Innovation Services
Director of Legal Services
Research and Innovation Services must sign all confidentiality agreements.
Designated authorised signatories for research contracts
The University must not commit to a contract unless it gets the signature of:
the Director of Finance, or their delegated staff
the Head of School and Dean (if appropriate)
This table shows which delegated staff members can accept contracts on behalf of the Director of Finance, based on the contract's value.
Contract value
Designated officer
Any research grant or contract with total value £250,000 or less
Deputy Faculty Finance Manager, or
Other Finance department staff (identified by Faculty Finance Manager)
Any research grant or contract with total value £400,000 or less
Relevant Faculty Finance Manager
UK Research Council grant or contract costed under full economic costing (FEC) methodology, with total value £500,000 or less
Relevant Deputy or Faculty Finance Manager, or
Other Finance staff (identified by Faculty Finance Manager)
UK Research Council grant or contract costed under full economic costing (FEC) methodology, with total value £1 million or less
Faculty Finance Manager
Any grant or contract of more than £1 million
Director of Finance, or Deputy Director of Finance, or Finance Registrar
