Will England establish Research UK?WIKIMEDIA, RENNET STOWEOne of the ways to streamline the research funding process in the U.K. would be to create a new, overarching agency to manage science spending, according to a newly published report to the UK government. Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Paul Nurse, head of the Francis Crick Institute, authored the report, in which he suggested that a scientist lead the new agency, called Research UK. The report was released last week (November 19).
Research UK would assume the administrative burden of the country’s seven research councils, which award more than £3 billion ($4.5 billion) to scientists there, tracking grant data, reporting to Parliament, and aiding in funding decisions. The report dispelled speculation that Nurse would recommend merging the seven councils into one body. “My recommendations seek to ensure that the different parts of the UK research system are working effectively together to support an endeavor with impact that is greater than the sum of its parts,” Nurse told the Times Higher Education. “To achieve this, the research councils must remain distinct in terms of their specialties but should be arranged under a single organization which can strengthen their collective strategy and voice.”
Some in the UK research community ...
