The MRC and the Single Fund for Health Research
- The MRC’s position
- Quality of Research
- Independent Decision-making
- Strengthening Partnerships
- A new structure for health research funding
The MRC’s position
The MRC welcomes the chance to help shape the future of medical research - to contribute to and strengthen the UK’s international reputation and competitiveness. We have been determined, from the start, that the MRC’s input to the review would be formed in partnership with a wide range of other organisations and individuals. We have listened to and discussed widely with our partners: the scientific community, our board and Council members, the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, other key opinion formers, as well as Sir David and his review team. We have also been informed by feedback from our web based e-forum ‘have your say.’
One message has been very clear. We need to build on the current successes of UK health research, and strengthen our ability to deliver bold, world-class initiatives that benefit people’s health, in the UK and around the world. Through our discussions a number of common principles and criteria have emerged, which we believe are integral to a successful and effective single fund.
These include:
- Building closer links between basic and applied research;
- Continuing to nurture innovative fundamental medical research
- Having an independent decision-making process
- Linking with scientific disciplines such as maths, chemistry, informatics and social sciences
- Ensuring support and partnership for the research priorities of charities and industry.
Quality of Research
Any new model for health research should be able to foster new interactions between basic and applied research, and population and health services research. It must accelerate the translation of basic research into health benefits.
While maintaining the UK at the leading edge in fundamental medical research, it must continue to strengthen more applied areas of clinical research, and health services and public health research, and develop the training, infrastructure and methodology to increase the impact and standing of applied health research
This includes continued support - in the UK and overseas – for health research likely to benefit poorer countries.
Independent Decision-making
The principle of placing most decisions on scientific funding at arms-length from Government (the Haldane Principle), and ensuring rigorous scrutiny of strategic and funding decisions – has served the UK well. The Budget statement (“Next Steps”) made a commitment to retain the Haldane Principle. This will ensure sustained delivery of world-class research and will help maintain public trust in medical research.
This arms length approach allows for an independent research ‘response’ on contentious and topical issues, such as Gulf War related illness, Avian flu and stem cells.
Many of the widest reaching impacts on health, and the health related economy, have emerged when outstanding individual scientists were given the support and freedom to pursue innovative ideas – both in basic and applied research. But to build balanced programmes of applied research, and ensure this research delivers improved public services, there is a need for closer and more links with experts in the NHS, and other bodies that help shape and improve health service, and for strategic input to priorities from Health Departments. Rigorous and transparent decision-making can ensure that these activities strengthen, and benefit from, work that is purely investigator-led.
Strengthening Partnerships
The ability to foster links across disciplines, such as the physical sciences, mathematics, computing, economics and social sciences, and between basic and applied biomedical science, is seen as another key principle in the continued delivery of first-rate research. Important too is the ability to provide appropriate infrastructure support for the research priorities of charities and industry. Both would benefit from having a single transparent contact point covering the full range of research supported by MRC and DH, for discussions on strategy, research programmes and translation.
A new structure for health research funding
We are looking at several possible models for managing the new health research fund in order to prepare the MRC’s submission, including one that would see a fully integrated arms-length body, combining the best elements of current MRC and NHS R&D activities. The other models include two separate organisations within an overarching strategic and governing structure.
Any new body will need to address the key challenges, especially ensuring that basic and applied research are strengthened and at the same time brought closer together, improving evaluation and outcome measurements, and maintaining the link with other Research Councils under their current remits.