Research budget & missions
DURING YOUR PHD
Research budget & missions
Use your individual research budget for eligible doctoral activities and follow the correct procedure for missions, conferences, training, publications, purchases and reimbursements.
BEFORE INCURRING ANY EXPENSE
Agree the activity and identify the correct procedure first
Discuss the proposed activity or expense with your Supervisor and verify that it is consistent with your doctoral research and training project. Expenditure charged to the individual research budget must be authorised by the responsible Programme Coordinator.
Academic approval does not replace a mission, purchase or reimbursement procedure. Do not travel, accept a quotation, register for an activity or make a personal payment before checking which procedure applies.
TRAVEL
Mission procedure
Use the Missions Portal before travelling for research, training or scientific activities.
PRODUCT OR SERVICE
UNICAM purchase
Materials, books, publication services and other eligible purchases are normally made directly by UNICAM.
ONLINE / NO TRAVEL
Registration fee
A residual direct-payment procedure may apply to individual course or conference registration where no mission is involved.
UNSURE?
Check first
Ask the Advanced Studies Office before making a financial commitment.
OFFICIAL GUIDANCE
MISSIONS
UNICAM Missions Regulations
Authorisation, advances, reimbursable expenses, documentation and mission limits.
RESEARCH BUDGET
PhD research-budget guidelines
Current SAS guidance on missions, purchases and exceptional reimbursement.
ONLINE PROCEDURE
UNICAM Missions Portal
Submit the mission request and complete the reimbursement procedure after the activity.
YOUR INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH BUDGET
A dedicated University resource for your doctoral project
≥ 10%
General minimum
Each PhD candidate, with or without a scholarship or other financial support, is guaranteed an appropriate research budget not lower than 10% of the scholarship amount. For the six positions offered through the Cycle XLII Regione Marche Second Call for UNICAM PhD Programmes, the Call expressly provides a minimum research budget of €4,872.90 over the three-year programme.
20%
National PhD Programmes
For PhD Programmes of national interest, the current UNICAM Regulations provide for the share to rise to 20% through the applicable ministerial co-financing framework. For the Cycle XLII Regione Marche Second Call in Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience, the Call expressly provides a minimum research budget of €9,745.80 over the three-year programme.
UNICAM
Managed through a cost centre
The research budget remains a University resource. It is recorded and administered through the relevant UNICAM cost centre and is not transferred to the candidate as personal funds.
BUDGET AVAILABILITY
Plan expenditure within your doctoral pathway
The current SAS guidelines make the research budget available for activities falling within the doctoral Programme period. Do not assume that an unused balance can automatically be committed after the end of your Programme or after a project-reporting deadline. For activities close to the end of the PhD, verify eligibility and timing with the Advanced Studies Office before making any commitment.
01 · PLAN THE EXPENDITURE
Start from the scientific need
Identify the scientific or training purpose and estimated cost with your Supervisor. The proposed expense must be consistent with your PhD project and with any restrictions attached to your scholarship, funded position or research project.
Programme Coordinator authorisation
The Programme Coordinator authorises expenditure charged to the individual PhD research budget. The subsequent administrative procedure depends on whether the expense is a mission, a University purchase or one of the limited cases in which direct payment by the PhD candidate is allowed.
03 · MISSION ADVANCE
Request an advance where permitted
10 days
Request the advance at least ten days before departure, except justified urgent cases.
75%
Maximum advance for expenses subject to analytical reimbursement.
> €250
Minimum estimated mission amount for the regulatory category that includes PhD candidates.
≥ 24h
An advance is not granted where the expected mission duration is less than 24 hours.
If you receive an advance
Submit the complete final documentation as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than 30 days after the mission. If the mission is not carried out, the advance must be returned according to the deadlines established by the Missions Regulations.
04 · AFTER THE MISSION
Complete the reimbursement or close the mission
After the activity, complete the mission procedure and provide the supporting documentation required for reimbursement.
| Documentation | What to retain or submit |
|---|---|
| Expenses | Invoices, fiscal receipts, itemised receipts, tickets and other documents identifying the expense. |
| Payment | Proof of payment where required. A card or electronic-payment confirmation alone does not replace the underlying fiscal document. |
| Air travel | Ticket and boarding documentation where required by the applicable procedure. |
| Course or conference | Invoice or receipt identifying the participant and services included, together with evidence of actual participation. |
| No reimbursable expenses | Close the mission in the portal as “NESSUNA SPESA” within 30 days of your return. |
Mission authorisation does not automatically guarantee reimbursement of every amount incurred. The expense must also be eligible, fall within the authorised limits and be properly documented.
05 · MOBILITY AND MISSIONS OVER 30 DAYS
Long research periods still require the ordinary mission procedure
Under the current UNICAM Missions Regulations, missions lasting more than 30 days normally require an additional express authorisation. For PhD candidates, this additional express authorisation is not required when the mission corresponds to a compulsory mobility period provided by the PhD Programme.
The exception concerns only the additional authorisation triggered by the duration of the mission.
The ordinary mission procedure and all other academic, financial and host-documentation requirements remain applicable. For candidates enrolled from Cycle XLI onwards, a training or research period at another institution exceeding one consecutive month must also be authorised by the Academic Board under the PhD Regulations.
For PhD candidates abroad with a scholarship increase for more than 30 days, specific reimbursement rules apply. Under the current Missions Regulations, reimbursement is limited to the eligible round-trip travel between UNICAM and the foreign host location and accommodation costs. Any separate mission undertaken during that period is treated under the ordinary mission rules, taking the foreign host location as the place of departure.
07 · EXCEPTIONAL DIRECT PAYMENT
Personal payment is the exception, not the normal procedure
The current research-budget guidance provides a residual procedure for personal registration for a conference, course, congress or summer/winter school where participation does not require travel and therefore does not involve a mission.
Ask before paying
Contact the Advanced Studies Office before making the payment. Subsequent reimbursement requires the prescribed request, appropriate fiscal documentation, proof of payment and evidence that the activity was actually attended.
08 · ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURE
Examples of activities the research budget may support
TRAINING & EVENTS
Courses, conferences, congresses and summer/winter schools actually attended, including eligible remote participation.
MISSIONS
Authorised research, training and scientific missions in Italy and abroad.
LABORATORY
Consumable materials directly required for the doctoral research.
PUBLICATIONS
Eligible publication and open-access expenses connected with doctoral research.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC MATERIAL
Books and other bibliographic resources required for the PhD project.
OTHER RESEARCH NEEDS
Other products or services may be assessed in advance where they are demonstrably connected with the doctoral project and compatible with the applicable rules.
Books and other bibliographic material purchased with UNICAM funds remain University property and must be returned to the competent UNICAM structure at the end of the PhD Programme.
09 · NOT ELIGIBLE
The individual research budget cannot normally be used for
• inventory items, including PCs, laptops, printers, tablets and software;
• expenditure attributable to projects or funding sources other than the relevant PhD Programme or position;
• indirect or general structural costs;
• individual membership fees;
• refundable deposits or security deposits;
• expenses already reimbursed from another source;
• expenditure unrelated to the doctoral research or training project;
• any expenditure excluded by the current UNICAM Regulations or the specific funding conditions.
• expenditure attributable to projects or funding sources other than the relevant PhD Programme or position;
• indirect or general structural costs;
• individual membership fees;
• refundable deposits or security deposits;
• expenses already reimbursed from another source;
• expenditure unrelated to the doctoral research or training project;
• any expenditure excluded by the current UNICAM Regulations or the specific funding conditions.
10 · AVAILABLE FUNDS & COST CENTRE
Check availability before making a commitment
Before proceeding, verify that sufficient funds remain available and identify the correct UNICAM cost centre. Budget availability may also depend on the scholarship funding source, project deadlines and reporting requirements.
Need additional funding?
If your individual research budget is insufficient, discuss the activity with your Supervisor before proceeding. Other research or project funds may be available, but the appropriate funding source and authorisation must be identified before any commitment is made.
11 · SPECIAL CASES
Situations that require additional attention
A mission during an existing period abroad
A separate trip from your foreign host location to another destination for a conference, workshop or research activity is a new mission. The foreign host location is taken into account as the point of departure under the applicable mission rules.
Several candidates using the same purchase
Do not combine several candidates’ individual budgets in a single purchase without prior verification. Accounting and funding-reporting requirements may make cumulative purchases inappropriate.
Non-EU destinations
Check insurance, healthcare and safety conditions before departure. Additional eligible costs must still comply with the Missions Regulations and the funding conditions applying to the activity.
QUICK REFERENCE
Before you commit any funds
Mission: regulatory minimum 2 days before departure; SAS guidance asks PhD candidates to submit at least 5 days before.
Advance: request at least 10 days before; for PhD candidates normally available above €250; no advance for missions under 24 hours.
Analytical advance: maximum 75% of estimated eligible expenditure.
Research budget: minimum 10% of the scholarship amount; 20% for National PhD Programmes under the current framework. For the current Cycle XLII Regione Marche second-session positions, this corresponds to at least €4,872.90 for the six UNICAM positions and €9,745.80 for the TAN position over the three-year programme.
Mission over 30 days: additional express authorisation is normally required, except where the period corresponds to compulsory mobility provided by the PhD Programme; any separate academic authorisation remains distinct.
Coordinator: authorises expenditure charged to the individual research budget.
Purchase: normally made directly by UNICAM — do not pay personally first.
Reimbursement: keep the required fiscal and participation documentation.
No expenses: close the mission as “NESSUNA SPESA” within 30 days.
Duplicate funding: the same expense cannot be reimbursed from more than one source.
Advance: request at least 10 days before; for PhD candidates normally available above €250; no advance for missions under 24 hours.
Analytical advance: maximum 75% of estimated eligible expenditure.
Research budget: minimum 10% of the scholarship amount; 20% for National PhD Programmes under the current framework. For the current Cycle XLII Regione Marche second-session positions, this corresponds to at least €4,872.90 for the six UNICAM positions and €9,745.80 for the TAN position over the three-year programme.
Mission over 30 days: additional express authorisation is normally required, except where the period corresponds to compulsory mobility provided by the PhD Programme; any separate academic authorisation remains distinct.
Coordinator: authorises expenditure charged to the individual research budget.
Purchase: normally made directly by UNICAM — do not pay personally first.
Reimbursement: keep the required fiscal and participation documentation.
No expenses: close the mission as “NESSUNA SPESA” within 30 days.
Duplicate funding: the same expense cannot be reimbursed from more than one source.
RELATED PROCEDURES
Go directly to the guidance you need
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Check before travelling, purchasing or paying
For questions concerning missions, reimbursements, available research budget or cost centres, contact the Advanced Studies Office before making a financial commitment. For products or services to be purchased by UNICAM, follow the dedicated purchase procedure.