Welcome to the Involvement Cost Calculator

STEP 1 - Download 'Budgeting for Involvement'
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Do you need to budget for public involvement?

Please note that benefits guidance and tax legislation been subject to considerable change/reinterpretation since 2019. Any INVOLVE documents referring to the payment of involvement fees may now be out of date and are pending a review during 2020. INVOLVE’s guidance should not be substituted for professional advice, and INVOLVE accepts no liability for decisions or actions taken as a result of its guidance. You are always recommended to take your own tax, finance or legal advice.

Step 1 – use ‘Budgeting for Involvement’ to plan your budget. This guide provides practical advice on how to budget for involving patients, carers and the public in research. Included is a dummy study as a worked example to show how the process works (see section 3 of ‘Budgeting for Involvement’).

Step 2 – use the Involvement cost calculator to work the actual costs of involving people in your study.

Please note that this resource is not intended to plan for the costs associated with people taking part as research participants. See section 1.4 In ‘Budgeting for Involvement’ for more details.

STEP 2 - How to use the cost calculator

Use this calculator once you know what costs you need to include in your budget.

You will need to have cookies enabled in order to properly use the cost calculator.

The most common costs associated with involvement are listed in five separate sections (see the arrow shaped tabs in the progress bar across the page). In each section there are individual cost items, for example in the Payment and reward section, the first item is ‘fees to individuals’ Press the expand button (+) to find out more about each item.

Work your way through the sections you need to get a total cost. You can navigate around the calculator using the arrow-shaped tabs at the top of the page or using the ‘Next’ and ‘Back’ buttons at the bottom of the page.

For each item you need enter in a quantity (the number you need) and a cost (each) to get a total cost for the item – examples are given in each section to help you.

Use the ‘Add notes’ option to put in any details you need next to each item – these will appear on the download and print out.

If a cost is not shown in any category you can add new rows to the form. Use the grey ‘Add your Own Item’ button.

You can view an overview of your budget in the Total section.

The calculator will not save your information. You can download or print any part of the form or the entire form using the download and Print buttons.

Please note that using the ‘Budgeting for involvement’ guide or cost calculator when applying for research grant funding will not guarantee funding will be awarded. Research funders take a number of factors into account, including value for money, when making decisions about which research to fund. As with any aspect of budgeting for research, it is important to justify the costs involved.

Find out more about how we developed this tool in About this resource

Running Total: £0

  • Payment & Reward

    Payments and rewards for members of the public in recognition of time, skills and expertise.

    Quantity is the number of each item you need and cost (each) is the cost of a single item.

    See an example

    To calculate the fees to individuals for attending a project advisory group meetings as in the dummy project in Budgeting for involvement (see page 19).

    Quantity = 6 (3 meetings x 2 people); cost (each) = £150 (fee offered to each person); Total = £900

    Item Total

    Fees to individuals

    Add Notes

    It is good practice to offer a fee to individuals for their involvement. What rate is most suitable for the role they will have? (See page 9 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Vouchers or tokens for individuals

    Add Notes

    Do you want to offer people vouchers or tokens for their involvement? These are sometimes used for one off activities and for children and young people. (see page 9 in Budgeting for involvement for more information).

    £0

    Fee or donation to a group or network

    Add Notes

    If you are working with a patient or service user group, can you offer a financial reward to the group? (See page 10 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Funding for additional training and learning

    Add Notes

    Can you fund additional training or learning for the people getting involved as a reward? This would be in addition to any training or learning required for their role. (See page 10 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Add Your Own Item Use this button to add more rows to this section. This will be useful if you have different costs from those listed or more than one of the items already in the list, for example different fees to individuals for different involvement activities.

  • Expenses

    Out of pocket expenses that members of the public will incur by getting involved.

    Quantity is the number of each item you need and cost (each) is the cost of a single item.

    See an example

    To calculate the travel expenses for members of the public attending a focus group as in the dummy project in Budgeting for involvement (see page 19).

    Quantity = 20 (20 people x 1 journey); cost (each) = £10 (estimate for each journey); Total = £200

    Item Total

    Travel

    Add Notes

    What travel costs will you need to cover to ensure people can get involved with your research? (See page 10 in Budgeting for Involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Subsistence

    Add Notes

    Do you need to cover the costs of any meals, snacks and refreshments if people will be away from home for a half day or more? (See page 11 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Childcare

    Add Notes

    Do you need to budget for covering the costs of childcare for the people getting involved in your research? (See page 11 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Carer costs

    Add Notes

    Do you need to budget for any replacement carers for the people getting involved in your research? This will be especially important if involving people with caring responsibilities (See page 11 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Personal assistants

    Add Notes

    Do you need to budget for the costs of personal assistants or support workers for any disabled people getting involved in your research? (See page 11 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £

    Overnight accommodation

    Add Notes

    If people are travelling a distance or involved over a number of days, will you need to budget for the costs of their overnight accommodation? (See page 11 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Add Your Own Item Use this button to add more rows to this section. This will be useful if you have different costs from those listed or more than one of the items already in the list, for example different travel costs for different involvement activities.

  • Involvement activity

    The cost of the specific activities for involving members of the public.

    Quantity is the number of each item you need and cost (each) is the cost of a single item.

    See an example

    To calculate the costs of hiring a venue for interview training as in the dummy project in Budgeting for involvement (see page 20).

    Quantity = 2 (2 days x 1 venue); cost (each) = £60 (hire charge for 1 day); Total = £120

    Item Total

    Finding people

    Add Notes

    How are you going to find people to get involved? Will there be any costs to cover, such as advertising or interviews? (see page 12 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Training and learning costs

    Add Notes

    What training and support will you need to offer to enable members of the public to be well prepared and effective in their role? Is training and support needed for members of the research team? (See page 13 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Venues and catering

    Add Notes

    If you have events or meetings planned, what are the costs of an accessible venue? (See page 13 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Equipment and books

    Add Notes

    Do you need to provide any equipment or books for the involvement? (See page 13 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Conferences fees

    Add Notes

    How much will it cost for the involved members of the public to help with the dissemination of the research at any conferences? (See page 14 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Add Your Own Item Use this button to add more rows to this section. This will be useful if you have different costs from those listed or more than one of the items already in the list, for example the costs of different venues.

  • Involvement staffing

    Costs of any staff required to support or carry out involvement in research.

    Quantity is the number of each item you need and cost (each) is the cost of a single item.

    See an example

    To calculate the costs of peer interviewers as in the dummy project in Budgeting for involvement (see page 20).

    Quantity = 20 (20 interviews for the project); cost (each) = £75 (fee offered to interviewers); Total = £1,500

    Item Total

    Administrative support

    Add Notes

    Do you need to think about additional administrative support? This can be useful for managing payments and expenses for members of the public. (See page 14 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice)

    £0

    Involvement coordinator

    Add Notes

    Do need a dedicated Involvement Coordinator for your project? (See page 14 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Independent facilitator

    Add Notes

    Do you need an independent facilitator or other person with specialist expertise in engaging with patients and the public? (See page 14 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Peer researchers / interviewers

    Add Notes

    If you are working with peer researchers or interviewers, how are you going to cost for their time – on a sessional basis or as contracted employees? (See page 15 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Add Your Own Item Use this button to add more rows to this section. This will be useful if you have different costs from those listed or more than one of the items already in the list, for example, more than one independent facilitator for different types of involvement activities.

  • Other costs

    Any other costs of the involvement.

    Quantity is the number of each item you need and cost (each) is the cost of a single item.

    See an example

    To calculate the costs of Disclosure and Barring Service checks for peer interviewers as in the dummy project in Budgeting for involvement (see page 20).

    Quantity = 2 (2 peer interviewers); cost (each) = £44 (enhanced disclosure); Total = £88

    Item Total

    Support for people with impairments

    Add Notes

    Will you need to provide support for people with impairments to enable them to get involved with your research? (See page 15 in Budgeting for involvement for more advice).

    £0

    Add Your Own Item Use this button to add more rows to this section. This will be useful if you have different costs from those listed or more than one of the items already in the list, for example different types of costs for supporting people with impairments.

  • Total

    Section Total