Digital EconomyEnergyGlobal Food SecurityGlobal UncertaintiesLifelong Health and Wellbeing Living with Environmental Change

Research Council priority programmes

(BIS 2010)

What broad principles guide (and restrain) those who allocate research funds?

•What is research? Very varied; principles should be generalisable•Is source of funds (government vs. charity vs. commercial) of over-riding importance?•Should research findings be for the “public good”? And if so, what exactly IS the public good?

Research Councils 2,549,353 AHRC 100,717 BBSRC 362,341 EPSRC 771,289 ESRC 158,061 MRC 545,585 NERC 298,071 HEFCE 1,731,300 QR Research 1,618,300 National Academies 87,832 Royal Society 48,558 British Academy 26,448 Royal Academy of Engineering 12,826 Science & Society 15,441 International 5,104 UK Space Agency 163,805 Total S&R Resource 4,575,906

2010/11 Government Research Spend (£1000’s)

Adapted from BIS 2010

What do funding panels consider?•Originality•Importance of question/impact of result•Timeliness/tractability•Track record•“Science quality” – how well is the project thought through?•Applicability/commercial potential•Costs/value•strategic fit

AHRC funds research, training and knowledge exchange in the arts and humanities. Its strategic goal is to deliver world-leading research that: § furthers understanding of human society, culture and creativity; § analyses historical and social context, and the interpretation of experiences, identities and cultural assumptions; and § creates social and economic benefits directly and indirectly through improvement in social and intellectual capital, social networking, community identity, learning and skills and quality of life.

(BIS 2010)

Approximate annual R&D spend, UK

MRCNIHRBig charitiespharma

Extracted from NESTA 2011

Two common strategic directives:

•Translational research•Tropical infectious diseases and other work of benefit to people in poor countries