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Strategic Aim Four - Research environment

Working across disciplines is key to achieving the best results with new and emerging technologies. We will support top research centres and technology facilities to accelerate progress in research, and attract and retain world-leading scientists in the UK.

Objective

To provide a world-class research environment.

Now

The MRC’s three institutes are pre-eminent research centres. They provide an excellent research environment that attracts and retains scientists from all over the world and provide long-term funding that allows ambitious, multidisciplinary projects to be pursued.

The MRC has a number of units in the UK, which carry out research across the biomedical research spectrum, from fundamental science at the molecular level to large-scale epidemiological studies. We also have units in The Gambia and Uganda, for research on improving treatments and interventions for major infectious diseases in the developing world.

The MRC has invested in facilities and research technologies, both within its own institutes and units and in universities. The MRC is managing the operation of the new research complex at Harwell (RCaH) which will provide the environment and facilities for researchers in the life and physical sciences to undertake research and encourage synergy between these areas of UK research excellence. On a smaller scale, the MRC supports the formation and development of centres of excellence, and provides strategic direction for long-term research.

Future

The UK aims to retain world-class facilities and scientists. To achieve this, it must create environments to allow innovative medical research to flourish. Increasingly, these will need greater research capacity, so that world-leading technologies are provided cost-effectively, to achieve greater disciplinary breadth and to enable collaboration and translation.

  • We will invest strategically to deploy equipment and facilities at laboratory, national or international level. This deployment will take into account the need to provide the best technologies, available to the most researchers, at good value for money, and to people who are best able to run and exploit it.
  • We aim to prepare for an increase in genetic and population data, combining low-cost, high-speed sequencing, and better use and management of healthcare and population-based data, to provide opportunities for research and application to healthcare.

How

We aim to develop new, larger facilities and new partnerships, such as links with universities, to strengthen centres of excellence.

  • The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation will bring together four of the world’s leading biomedical research organisations – the MRC, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust and University College London – to create a new UK medical research institute.
  • The MRC will continue to provide opportunities to develop new centres of excellence in partnership with universities.
  • We will work with MRC unit directors and universities to achieve close integration of units and universities, and we will stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration between biological and physical sciences.