Today I am publishing “The Research and Science Budget Allocations 2008-09 to 2010-11”. The publication outlines the allocations of the Research And Science Budget for this comprehensive spending review period, and provides further details on what this money will deliver. I have placed copies in the Library of the House.
The overall settlement was announced by the Chancellor in the comprehensive spending review. As a result the Department will spend almost £6 billion in total on the research base by 2010-11. This is made up of the Research and Science Budget and nearly £2 billion of funding to reach English universities through the Higher Education Funding Council’s (HEFCE) quality-related funding stream (the second leg of the dual support system).
The Research and Science Budget specifically will increase from £3.4 billion per year in 2007-08 to almost £4 billion per year by 2010-11—taking the Government’s support for the UK’s research base to its highest level ever.
Specifically the allocations will:
fund new commitments to the Office for the Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research (OSCHR)
support £120 million of collaborative work between the Technology Strategy Board and the Research Councils over the CSR period
enable relevant recommendations of the Sainsbury Review to be implemented
enable the Research Councils to fund research at 90 per cent. of its full economic cost
increase funding for the Higher Education Innovation Fund, and
provide capital funding to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Research Base and allow UK researchers to benefit from a range of new world-class facilities
Key Highlights of the Allocations
The UK continues to perform exceptionally well in research and, increasingly, its exploitation. We remain second only to the US in global scientific excellence (as measured by citations), while collaboration between the research base and business continues to grow ever stronger.
The allocations provide significant support for medical research. The Medical Research Council will receive almost £2 billion over the three years to help keep the UK at the forefront of medical advances. Joint investment with the Department of Health, joined up by OSCHR, will ensure that more fundamental research is translated into clinical practice. The funding will also enable the development of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) on the British Library site, and the rebuilding of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge (subject to approval of individual business plans by Government).
In response to the “Grand Challenges” outlined by the Chancellor at the announcement of the comprehensive spending review, the Research Councils are embarking on an exciting range of thematic research programmes. These programmes bring together partners from inside and outside the research community in an unprecedented effort to tackle these issues. Programmes include: “Living with Environmental Change”, “Ageing”, “Global Threats to Security” and “Energy”.
This allocation makes resources available to drive forward the economic impact agenda in the face of global challenges. The Research Councils have each set out explicit strategies for delivering a step change in their economic impact. The strategies form a solid foundation from which Research Councils can further raise their emphasis on economic impact during this CSR spending period.
In addition, the Higher Education Innovation Fund will rise to £150 million per annum by 2010-11, providing more resources than ever before to support knowledge transfer between universities and business. The Public Sector Research Exploitation Fund will in future attract co-funding from other sources so that even more support can be made available to public sector laboratories as they commercialise their research.
We have increased the budget for the successful “Science Bridges” scheme to £12 million to foster stronger links with international researchers, alongside supporting international fellowships run by the National Academies. This will help forge stronger links with the US, China, and India in particular.
A new Capital Investment Fund is being created for universities carrying out Research Council-funded projects. This permanent funding stream replaces the temporary Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF) programme, which has helped make good the backlog in investment in research infrastructure. The new fund will help universities to sustain this research infrastructure in the future.
Health of Disciplines
The Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-14 sets out the Government’s commitment to nurturing key disciplines. The Research Councils, Funding Councils, and National Academies have made significant progress. It is important that all key disciplines remain strong and vibrant. Research priorities will change over time but it is important that Government is confident that the combined decisions of the research councils properly underpin the health of key disciplines. This is important both for the future of research and, more widely, to ensure a flow of talented individuals into STEM subjects at University.
As a next step, I have asked Ian Diamond, as Chair of RCUK, to organise a series of reviews on the health of key research disciplines in the UK. The first of these reviews will be on physics, and will span at least three Research Councils (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council and Science and Technology Facilities Council). It will be led by Professor Bill Wakeham, Vice-Chancellor, University of Southampton.
Large Experimental Facilities
Investment in advanced experimental facilities is of critical importance to the long-term success of the research base. STFC invests significantly in national facilities (such as Diamond and Isis) and international subscriptions (for example the European research centre at CERN). The allocation to STFC supports the Government’s vision for Harwell and Daresbury to be developed as Science and Innovation Campuses.
The Daresbury campus will be developed as a partnership between the STFC, the NWDA, the private sector and universities. I have asked Sir Tom McKillop to look specifically at the development of the Daresbury site as part of his wider independent review into the future of the Manchester City region and wider north-west economy.
Similarly, the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is being developed as a scientific and high technology cluster in Oxfordshire.
Conclusion
World-class research in the UK is crucial to maintaining economic prosperity and responding to the challenges and opportunities of globalisation. Research plays a vital part in addressing key global and domestic challenges, such as climate change, energy, ageing, technological change and security. The research base also delivers improvements in public service delivery and contributes to improvements in education, health and culture.
The allocation of the science budget will continue to support the full spectrum of academic endeavour. It will ensure all benefits from the excellent research base are maximised by encouraging the full exploitation of fundamental research. It will support the long-term sustainability of research in the UK, whilst encouraging further international collaboration.
This report can be viewed at: http://www.dius.gov.uk/publications/URN07114.pdf