Research Councils UK (RCUK) has published a new framework setting out their vision
for the future. The RCUK Framework for the Future: Excellence with impact
shows the outstanding contribution made by Research Councils UK. RCUK enables the
UK to have a productive economy, healthy society and contribute to a sustainable
world, and these three mutually supportive areas form the basis of the framework.
Professor Alan J Thorpe, Chair of RCUK, endorsed the new framework. "RCUK spans
all academic disciplines and this framework highlights how interdisciplinary and
collaborative research has been, and will be, the key to solving many of the challenges
facing both the nation and the world. Here in the UK we already have the skills
needed to tackle these challenges, but we must ensure we continue to invest in researchers
who can understand the problems and develop answers.
"In the current economic climate, it is essential that the benefits research
brings to the UK are recognised. Despite current pressure on public finances, we
must maintain investment in research or we won't be able to solve the problems facing
us. RCUK's commitment to funding excellent research, together with the stability
and investment that has been seen within research over the last ten years, means
that the UK is internationally recognised as being a world leader. To maintain this
position, and to aid future growth and prosperity, it is vital that there is sustained
public investment in research."
The Minister for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson, said: "UK researchers
constantly push at the frontiers of human knowledge, satisfying our curiosity about
the world and creating the basis for a sustainable future.
"Record levels of government investment in our research base mean that the UK
is now internationally renowned as a world-leading destination for science. But
we cannot rest on our laurels. There are big challenges ahead and RCUK's new framework
makes a strong case for the essential role of science in tackling them."
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Notes
Contact:
Chloë Somers
RCUK Press Officer
Tel: 01793 444592
About the framework
Further information is available on the Framework for the Future website:
www.rcuk.ac.uk/Publications/policy/framework/Pages/home.aspx including:
- the Framework for the Future document
- a variety of case studies
- facts and figures
- an audio interview with Professor Thorpe.
About Research Councils UK
Research Councils UK is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research
Councils. We invest annually around £3 billion in research. Our focus is on excellence
with impact. We nurture the highest quality research, as judged by international
peer review providing the UK with a competitive advantage. Global research requires
we sustain a diversity of funding approaches, fostering international collaborations,
and providing access to the best facilities and infrastructure, and locating skilled
researchers in stimulating environments. Our research achieves impact – the demonstrable
contribution to society and the economy made by knowledge and skilled people. To
deliver impact, researchers and businesses need to engage and collaborate with the
public, business, government and the third sector.
www.rcuk.ac.uk.
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 & Technology Facilities Council (STFC).