Research Councils welcome today the announcement by the Office of Science & Technology (OST) of the Science Budget allocations to individual Research Councils for the period 2005/06 to 2007/08.
Speaking on behalf of the UK Research Councils, Ian Diamond of Research Councils UK (RCUK) said:
"The Government has chosen to put science at the centre of its policies on economic prosperity and see the clear links between innovation, R&D and the excellent science which the UK produces. And of course, as the bodies responsible for administering more than £3 billion of public money on research each year, the Councils are delighted to see science and research so high on the Government's agenda."
"The Councils will see their budget rise from £2.4 billion in 2004/05 to more than £3 billion by 2007/08. As announced in January 2005, Research Councils will pay 80 per cent of the full economic cost of research grants for all applications submitted after 1 September this year. Of the additional £560 million allocated to the Research Councils in 2006/07 and 2007/08 over the 2005/06 baseline, £302 million will be used to meet this objective. This will enable universities to provide the physical infrastructure to enable the world class science to take place if the government's vision is to be achieved."
"In addition, there are considerable funds to improve the human resources needed to maintain and recharge the UK's science base. It is absolutely right that we focus on infrastructure and it is excellent to see the recognition that research requires long term investment,"
he continued:
"There will always be more good research proposals than the Councils can fund with public money and the UK punches well above its weight in terms of scientific excellence. What this money does is ensure a more sustainable research base, which is entirely sensible," he concluded.
Research Councils and RCUK will publish their delivery plans in May 2005 in conjunction with the publication by the OST of the Science Budget allocations booklet 2005/06 to 2007/08. These delivery plans will set out in detail the Research Councils' priorities and plans for investment over the next three years, including the funding they will be making available for research, training and career development, innovation and knowledge transfer and engaging the public in dialogue about research.
Also today, the Councils have announced the establishment of two new RCUK units from the 1 April 2005 championing Science in Society and Research Careers and Diversity. The first unit will coordinate cross-Council activities around public engagement including looking at the Councils' role in enthusing young people about the achievements stemming from contemporary research. The Careers and Diversity Unit takes over the coordination of multi-Council activities around bringing on the next generation of researchers such as the Academic Fellowship scheme and the Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards.
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Notes for editors
Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the partnership between the UK's seven Research Councils and the Arts & Humanities Research Board. The Research Councils run several cross-council multidisciplinary research programmes and are the main public investors in fundamental research in the UK. Through RCUK, the Research Councils are working together to create a common framework for research, training and knowledge transfer.
The partnership is led by the RCUK Executive Group, which meets monthly and comprises the chief executives of the seven Research Councils and AHRB. The Group is currently chaired by Professor Ian Diamond, Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research Council.
The seven UK Research Councils are:
- Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC);
- Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC);
- Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC);
- Engineering &amo; Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC);
- Medical Research Council (MRC);
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC);
- Particle Physics & Astronomy Research Council (PPARC);
- The Arts & Humanities Research Board (AHRB) is due to become a Council in its own right from April 2005.