The seven UK Research Councils, champions of research, training and innovation, have agreed a £40 million contract with Fujitsu Services, a leading European information technology company, for their new Shared Services Centre.
Based in Swindon, the Research Councils UK Shared Services Centre Ltd (RCUK SSC Ltd) will bring together support services, providing human resources, finance, payroll, procurement, and IT to the Research Councils and their institutes. Fujitsu will work to develop the state-of-the-art IT infrastructure to be used by RCUK SSC Ltd and the Research Councils on their integrated operations.
Speaking on behalf of the Research Councils, Professor Ian Diamond said "The Centre will bring greater harmonisation to the Councils that will help us maximise our investment in cutting-edge research. This will mean changes to the way things are currently done and help to deliver Government's objectives for science and innovation."
Raymond Prud'homme, Director of the cross-Research Council project to implement the Shared Services Centre, explains "The establishment of RCUK SSC Ltd is one of the most complex and high profile shared services projects to take place in the public sector. We are working closely with Fujitsu to ensure that the IT system is exactly what is required by the Councils to support their business needs."
RCUK SSC Ltd Chief Executive, Peter Telford added "The RCUK SSC Ltd will deliver an integrated, more efficient and effective service to all the Research Councils. We are pleased to be working with Fujitsu on this challenging venture and look forward to delivering quality services for the benefit of the research community."
The RCUK Shared Services Centre will employ around 600 people, serve over 12,000 Research Council employees, and support approximately 30,000 researchers. It will start to provide services from April 2008 and will be fully operational by the end of 2009.
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About Research Councils UK
The seven Research Councils are independent non-departmental public bodies, funded by the Science Budget through the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. They are incorporated by Royal Charter and together manage a research budget of over £2.8 billion a year.
Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the partnership between the UK's seven Research Councils. Through RCUK, the Research Councils work together to champion the research, training and innovation they support. The seven UK Research Councils are:
- Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
- Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
- Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
- Medical Research Council (MRC)
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
About RCUK SSC Ltd
Research Councils UK Shared Services Centre Ltd (RCUK SSC Ltd) delivers quality services for the benefit of the research community. It is a company limited by shares and is jointly owned by the Research Councils. It is governed by a Board of Directors with each Council having an equal vote in decision-making.
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu Services is a leading European information technology services company. Its business is helping its customers realise the value of information technology through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed service contracts. It serves customers in the private and public sectors across Europe including retail, financial services, healthcare and Government. With an annual turnover of £2.46 billion (€3.59 billion), it employs over 19,000 people across 20 countries. Headquartered in London, Fujitsu Services is the European IT services arm of the US$43.2 billion (€32.5 billion) Fujitsu Group. Visit uk.fujitsu.com for more information.
Contact
Julia Short
RCUK Media Officer, Tel 01793 444435