Research Councils UK (RCUK) welcomes today (18th July 2012) a new report from NESTA, Our Frugal Future: Lessons from India’s Innovation System, which explores the policies, institutions and industries that are driving research and innovation in India. The report aims to help UK researchers and institutions understand the opportunities and challenges of engaging with India.
RCUK is pleased to have a very successful team in India who are working towards making the UK the partner of choice for India’s research collaborations. Through RCUK India, the UK Research Councils are working to enable high-quality, high-impact research partnerships between the two countries. The research will benefit both the UK and India in terms of standards of living, optimum use of available energy sources, healthy populations, and a secure future.
Dr Helen Bailey, Acting Director of RCUK India commented: “We are delighted that the report recognises the pivotal role that RCUK India has played in developing an impressive portfolio of UK-India co-funded research, mapping a 90% increase over the last three years. The Research Councils have a broad agenda of research partnerships with India and, as recommended by this report, we will continue to work in the direction of developing an overarching strategy to coordinate longer-term, sustainable UK-India research engagement and partnership.”
A contribution that RCUK India made to the report was to commission a study, Bibliometric analysis to support the mapping of research and innovation in India, exploring the extent and trends in collaborative research publications between the UK and India. The study found that the volume and quality of UK-India research partnerships have increased in recent years. RCUK expects that this trend will continue in the coming years, due in part to the anticipated outcomes of the large portfolio of high-quality, co-funded research between the Research Councils and Indian co-funders.
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Further information
Contact:
Alexandra Saxon
Head of Communications
Tel: 01793 444474 or email: Alexandra Saxon
Notes to editors
The report from NESTA, Our Frugal Future: Lessons from India’s Innovation System is available here
The study, Bibliometric analysis to support the mapping of research and innovation in India, is available here
RCUK India was established in 2008 with an aim to bring about a step change in research partnerships between the two countries and make it easier for the best researchers in the UK and India to develop high-quality, high impact research partnerships.
Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research Councils who annually invest around £3 billion in research. We support excellent research, as judged by peer review, that has an impact on the growth, prosperity and wellbeing of the UK. To maintain the UK’s global research position we offer a diverse range of funding opportunities, foster international collaborations and provide access to the best facilities and infrastructure around the world. We also support the training and career development of researchers and work with them to inspire young people and engage the wider public with research. To maximise the impact of research on economic growth and societal wellbeing we work in partnership with other research funders including the Technology Strategy Board, the UK Higher Education funding bodies, business, government, and charitable organisations. 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).