Press Releases

RCUK welcomes the statement from the UK national academies on research and innovation after the EU referendum, published on 16 July. RCUK supports and endorses the points made in the statement which reflect the position of the Research Councils.

Each of the seven Research Councils has now published their Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16. Laid before Parliament in the last week, the publications outline the Councils’ achievements over the last year.

RCUK have launched a Call for Evidence to gather views on the high-level challenges that will form the basis of the funding calls from the Global Challenges Research Fund collective fund, the information gathered will also be share with the other delivery partners so that it may inform their own strategies.

The outcome of the EU Referendum raises questions for UK researchers and international partners about the Research Councils’ international activities and collaborations. We are actively working with Government on issues related to UK research and we will provide further information when it is available.

The Appointments Panels for four of the Research Councils are seeking applications from suitably qualified academics or experienced individuals, to fill a number of vacancies on their governing Councils. These vacancies are for part-time, fixed term membership which are expected to arise during 2016.

Research funders from around the world gathered in New Delhi to debate global approaches to interdisciplinarity and the equality and status of women in research at the Global Research Council 2016 Annual Meeting.

The main tasks for the Strategic Advisory Group will be to help develop a common strategic approach between the Research Councils, helping the Councils to work together to inform the strategic research priorities that optimise the use of the fund and ensure that it addresses the problems faced by developing countries.

RCUK is seeking members for its new Open Access Practitioners Group to share best practice, discuss issues and provide sector insight to improve the implementation of the RCUK Policy on Open Access.

Researchers can now create or connect their ORCID identifier in the Research Councils’ grants system by logging in to their personal information page. This is an important first step towards improving the flow of research information across the higher education sector.

People living in the cities of Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle & Gateshead and York will benefit from a new research and innovation initiative that puts them in the driving seat to help improve their cities’ health, wellbeing and prosperity as they face up to challenges of modern urban living. 

Three large collaborative grants, totalling £9.5m, have been announced by the Research Councils as part of a cross-Council initiative to tackle antimicrobial resistance. The awards together mark one of the biggest investments into AMR since the initiative launched.

The Government has published a White Paper which details its planned policy to reform support for higher education and research, including proposals on the future of the Research Councils. ‘Success as a Knowledge Economy’ outlines how Government intends to take forward the implementation of the recommendations of Sir Paul Nurse’s Review.

Five UK Research Councils have announced the first joint interdisciplinary calls from the new £1.5Bn Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) unveiled by the Government in last year’s spending review.

The UK Research Councils have published their Delivery Plans for the period 2016-2020. The plans outline how the Research Councils individually and collectively will use their allocations from the Science and Research Budget announced in March.

RCUK has today launched an action plan to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in research, recognising its leadership role in driving a change in culture. Alongside this, RCUK have today published its annual data on grants and fellowships applications and success rates by gender, ethnicity and age.

Senior representatives from RCUK and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) celebrated the growing UK-China research partnership and discussed strategic priorities for the future at an event held at the Royal Society in London on 18th April.

The Research Councils have published a collective Strategic Priorities and Spending Plan. The document provides a summary of the ambitions, strategic direction and investment themes for the Research Councils’ collective and individual activities.

Food security, river health, the effects of aerosols on climate and an upgrade to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN are among six new science projects and two other research infrastructures recommended for European-wide funding in a new report.