Update from the MRC's March 2008 Council meeting
At their December meeting the MRC’s Council agreed that in light of changed responsibilities between the MRC and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the new programmes announced for clinical trials and methodology, the remaining business of the Health Services and Public Health Research Board (HSPHRB) would be redistributed to the other four research boards. These changes will take effect from October 2008. To ensure there is no disruption to funding, transition to these new structures will take place over the next three to four months.
In the March 2008 meeting Council agreed the redistribution of responsibilities across the research boards. This redistribution influences the remit of each board, expanding their population sciences portfolio and translational impact.
MRC units and centres currently under the HSPHRB will move to the Physiological Systems and Clinical Sciences Board (PSCSB).
The basic science focus of the Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board (MCMB) will be retained and it will have increased responsibility for translation through cancer and regenerative medicine and the inclusion of pharmacology and toxicology in its remit. MCMB will fund cohorts as infrastructure for population genetics under the oversight of the Population Sciences Group.
To better reflect the revised portfolio of the PSCSB, including an increase in population sciences, it will be renamed to the Population and Systems Medicine Board (PSMB).
New members will be appointed to the four research boards to strengthen their population health science expertise.
The revised portfolio distribution across the four Boards can be viewed in the Our Research section of the website.
The HSPHRB has one further meeting in July 2008. New arrangements for clinical trials and methodological research have already been announced. Subsequent funding decisions in all the other research areas currently covered by the HSPHRB will be made by the appropriate board as outlined above, ensuring that there is no interruption in processing funding applications.
In March, MRC Council approved budgets for the research boards for 2008/09 as shown below.
Health Services and Public Health Board (HSPHRB) £31m
Infections and Immunity Board (IIB) £31.4m
Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board (MCMB) £36.9m
Neurosciences and Mental Health Board (NHMB) £45.1m
Physiological Systems and Clinical Sciences Board (PSCSB) £27.2m
The budgets will be re-calculated after the next round of board meetings (June/July) to reflect the responsibilities for the four research boards from October 2008.
Four overview groups are being established to ensure that cross-board funding policies and initiatives are developed and implemented. These groups will cover population sciences, global health, translational research and training and careers.
Chairs of each research board and overview group will serve as members of the Strategy Board, which is chaired by the Chief Executive. The Strategy Board’s role is to develop the overall strategic scientific plans for the MRC and will ensure that the organisation is responsive to the current and future scientific landscape. It advises the Chief Executive on the apportionment of budgets across the research boards and makes awards from the Strategic Budget. This budget will be separate from the funds the MRC is intending to allocate for translational research and to the boards for response mode applications. Strategy Board has now met twice and will continue to meet monthly.
Board chairs will have a part-time executive role in the MRC in future, reporting to the Chief Executive.
Further details on these changes will follow in the next couple of months, including details of board and overview group membership and revised board budgets. Changes will be made to the relevant Research Board sections on the website in due course.
