Meeting the health research challenge
13 April 2007
At its last meeting at the end of March Professor John Bell updated MRC Council about early progress in establishing the new Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research (OSCHR) and the related new structures for UK medical research that have been established following the Cooksey Review into UK health research funding.
Emphasising the need for continued investment in basic biomedical science, Professor Bell, the interim chair of OSCHR, set out its aims:
- Alignment of MRC, NIHR and other government funded health research agencies within a single integrated strategy
- Effective cross-working and avoidance of duplication between research agencies and clarity for the research community
- Enhancement of capacity in the UK for translational and public health research
The Council readily embraced these aims. The next issue of MRC Network will carry an interview with Professor Bell and more information on the Council’s vision for the role that MRC will play in the evolving new environment for UK medical research. To subscribe to Network email: newsletter@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk, or signup to email newletters and RSS feeds.
Before the launch of the Cooksey review, the MRC had been considering its own governance structure and methods of working. This had been given new impetus by the Cooksey review and MRC decided to engage the management consultants Ernst and Young to work with a team from MRC head office to conduct an internal review. Council received their report on MRC’s role, structure methods and operation at its last meeting.
The Report highlights MRC’s substantial track record in funding research over the decades that have led to some of the most important advances in science and in medical knowledge and healthcare practice.
Council agreed that the constructive ideas in the Report will be helpful in setting strategic and operational objectives across MRC. They will help to move the organisation forward in the new environment for UK medical research, whilst preserving the international reputation and ‘brand’ that we have developed as an organisation.
Many of the recommendations in the Report fit with planning already well advanced, such as the creation of a new MRC strategic advisory group, which can and will be implemented quickly. Other recommendations, for example concerning the setting up of new MRC head office directorates, need to wait until a new MRC Chief Executive has been appointed following the end of Professor Colin Blakemore’s term in September 2007.
Other issues such as the future configuration of the MRC boards can only be resolved once the joint board structures of OSCHR and the more detailed arrangements for MRC/NIHR partnership working have been developed.
In the meantime – as envisaged in the Report - some rapid interim arrangements will be made to resource new approaches to strategy and evaluation, to strengthen implementation of the translational agenda across MRC and MRCT, and to transition towards a smaller more strategic governing body (the MRC Council) that preserves appropriate scientific and other governance expertise in accordance with the Charter.
A 12-month implementation plan is being developed by the MRC Executive Board for discussion at the next Council meeting in May.
- Read the Executive Summary from the report.
- To subscribe to Network email: newsletter@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk, or signup to email newletters and RSS feeds.
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