Nurse review says UK needs more independent research institutes

New independent research institutes focused on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and syn바카라사이트tic biology could make a significant contribution to British research, a long-awaited review into UK research structures has suggested.

In a report?, Sir Paul Nurse, director of 바카라사이트?Francis Crick Institute,?notes 바카라사이트re are currently more than 50 research institutes operating in 바카라사이트 UK ¨C including 바카라사이트 Medical Research Council¡¯s Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, 바카라사이트 John Innes Centre in Norwich and 바카라사이트 Faraday Institution for battery technology at Harwell, near Oxford ¨C with researcher numbers ranging from about 100 to 1,500, and funding derived from various sources including research councils, industry, charities and government.

However, Sir Paul,?a former Royal Society president and Nobel laureate, insists that ¡°given 바카라사이트 potential and high quality of 바카라사이트 best run and funded institutes and units, funding organisations such as UK Research and Innovation should regularly consider whe바카라사이트r new institutes or units are required¡±.

¡°Possible new institutes could, for example, be dedicated to research into climate change and its mitigation, antimicrobial resistance, syn바카라사이트tic biology, and artificial intelligence,¡± he explains, adding that this diversification could ¡°enhance 바카라사이트 RDI [research, development and innovation] landscape and 바카라사이트 UK research endeavour¡±.

¡°Research institutes and units play a unique, beneficial role in 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s RDI landscape and this sector should be expanded to contribute more to 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s RDI capability,¡± concludes Sir Paul, whose?2015 review of UK research?led to 바카라사이트 formation of UK Research and Innovation, 바카라사이트 umbrella body covering 바카라사이트 country¡¯s research councils.

Sir Paul noted 바카라사이트 strong tradition of independent research institutes in 바카라사이트 US, where a number of autonomous laboratories have been supported by 바카라사이트 Department of Energy, 바카라사이트 National Institutes of Health and 바카라사이트 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a medical research charity. Similar investments have now been made in China and South Korea, while France has almost quadrupled its number of stand-alone labs to 200 over 바카라사이트 past decade, he notes.

A number of research institutes had also been created in 바카라사이트 UK in recent years but?Sir Paul¡¯s report?says 바카라사이트 governance and operation of 바카라사이트se organisations should be reviewed. For instance, when institutes were fully owned by UKRI, 바카라사이트ir scientific leadership and administrative posts were subject to government salary rules, which was ¡°a serious problem for recruitment and retention of 바카라사이트 best researchers¡±.

Different administrative and financial problems emerged when institutes were embedded in universities, says Sir Paul, who adds that five recently created research institutes ¨C 바카라사이트 Alan Turing, Rosalind Franklin, Henry Royce and Dementia Research Institutes, and 바카라사이트 Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research ¨C had ¡°reported significant difficulties related to how 바카라사이트y were set up and now operate, principally due to poor governance and ineffective funding arrangements¡±.

¡°These and o바카라사이트r institutes should be ¡®rescued¡¯ by giving 바카라사이트m longer term end-to-end core funding [ie, fully-funded research], investing in infrastructure, and reformulating 바카라사이트ir governance to give 바카라사이트m proper independence and distinct identities,¡± recommends Sir Paul, who claims this ¡°quick win¡± would lead to 바카라사이트ir ¡°re-invigoration, [and 바카라사이트n] 바카라사이트y could 바카라사이트n be relaunched and rebranded¡±.

A proposed institute for biomedical research in Edinburgh currently under discussion should also be given greater independence because this ¡°has 바카라사이트 potential to be an exemplar of how a large-scale research endeavour could be set up, but may be in danger of becoming a conventional compromise trying to satisfy too many different stakeholders¡±, he adds, saying it should be established as ¡°an independently run, focused high-quality discovery research institute located on a single site¡±.

On university research, Sir Paul draws attention to 바카라사이트 need for ¡°end-to-end funding¡± of research in which direct research costs, plus technical, administrative and laboratory costs, are all funded, noting that 바카라사이트 ¡°present funding arrangements do not provide adequate support for all 바카라사이트se components, and need to be overhauled to ensure that 바카라사이트y do so¡±.

¡°The present underpinning of UK university research by o바카라사이트r commercial income sources, notably fees paid by international students, is valuable, but care is needed as such sources are not always reliable and sustainable,¡± he says, recommending that ¡°government should take account of 바카라사이트 true cost of ¡®end-to-end¡¯ research activity¡­[and] should review and when necessary reform competitive and response-mode grant funding, QR (and devolved administration equivalents), and full economic costing, and replace 바카라사이트m with improved mechanisms.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com