More investment for UK bioscience development

Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, has announced substantial funding that will ensure the UK's bioscience research base remains globally competitive and at the forefront of meeting the grand challenges faced by society in the coming decades. The announcement was made by the Minister during a visit to the Babraham Research Campus, near Cambridge, and highlighted again during a major speech at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has allocated £250M as the first phase of five year strategic investment programmes. This includes 26 strategic science programmes and 14 key national research capabilities, to be delivered by eight of the UK's world-leading bioscience research institutes and their university partners.

The investment will help the UK to meet challenges such as sustainably feeding the growing world population, finding alternatives to dwindling fossil fuels and supporting an ageing society to remain healthy for longer.

Commenting on the funding, Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts said: "This £250 million investment from BBSRC for the first phase of major five year research programmes will sustain excellent science at some of the UK's leading institutes and universities. This will drive growth, support highly skilled jobs and keep the UK at the very forefront of bioscience, with benefits ranging from healthcare to energy and global food security."

The Minister made the announcement in a speech during a visit to see the progress being made in the development of the Babraham Research Campus. The campus, a BBSRC National Research and Innovation Campus, is home to the Babraham Institute, one of the institutes in receipt of today's funding.

The institutes receiving funding have a vital role in supporting BBSRC's mission to further scientific knowledge to promote economic growth and job creation in important sectors such as food, farming, renewables and pharmaceuticals. The grants will support research, key national scientific infrastructure, knowledge exchange, public engagement and institute development.

Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive, said: "By almost all measures the UK has the world's best bioscience research base. BBSRC's strategic funding of institutes with distinct missions and unique national facilities is one of the reasons we achieve this. However, being the best doesn't mean much unless you make a difference in the world. Through their close links with industry and policy makers, and through engaging the public, the institutes are at the forefront of translating fundamental bioscience into products, services and advice.

"This investment is a major commitment to realising the potential of a bio-based economy in the UK. This is only possible through a sustainable, excellent fundamental research base with the right people, skills and facilities."

For the first time BBSRC's funding to the institutes has been awarded through a number of distinct strategic programme grants to each institute - and in some cases across institutes and university partners - to support five year research programmes. These have been combined with grants to support vital national research capabilities and with support for knowledge exchange, commercialisation and embedded activities, such as public engagement. The funding follows an assessment process, including independent peer review, of Institute science and programmes including knowledge exchange, public engagement and strategic HR.