EPSRC Delivery Plan 2015/16
The Delivery Plan is described as “a continuation of our overarching framework of strategic priorities as set out in Strategic Plan”. The strongest emphasis is on generating the greatest possible impact and value form our investments by supporting the Government’s strategies for growth in order to:
- sustain the kind of world-leading research base which secures the UK’s reputation for research excellence and which attracts both leading researchers to work here and inward investment;
- help realise the Industrial Strategy;
- invest in the next ‘Great Technologies’ e.g. Quantum Technologies;
- increase the numbers of highly-skilled individuals the UK needs to build and sustain a high-tech economy;
- help turn ideas quickly into jobs and profits through the increased attraction of industrial investment;
- secure better value for money from public funds through leverage on our research investment.
Key investment priorities for 2015/16:
- protect and grow the training of highly skilled people;
- strengthen our co-investment with the TSB in order to support UK innovation;
- sustain the multidisciplinary portion of our portfolio at around 45 per cent;
- retain a 60:40 balance between our research capability themes and global challenge themes;
- commit to cross-Research Council global themes;
- work with university partners to strategically identify further efficiencies in the research ecosystem – such as the shared use of capital equipment.
EPSRC understands the importance of sustaining a high international profile for our research, with a focus on five key regions: Europe, USA, Japan, China and India.
EPSRC-funded research is essential for delivering many of the advances in the government’s Eight Great Technologies (Big Data, Robotics, Advanced Materials, Energy Storage, Regenerative Medicine and Synthetic Biology).
EPSRC has been allocated an additional £270 million to support Quantum Technologies. Partnering with the TSB and the National Physical Laboratory, it will invest this in a national network of Quantum Technology hubs with the aims of exploiting quantum science for practical applications, and capitalising on the UK’s research excellence in this area.
EPSRC recognises the important role to be played by Big Data, an area of strategic importance to the UK. Our essential underpinning role is in the mathematics and computer science we support, and we will invest to develop world-leading capability in new, transformative tools and techniques.
EPSRC is investing in 115 Centre for Doctoral Training (CDTs), sponsoring partnerships between universities, business, charities and government to co-develop and train students in cohorts. This approach builds critical mass and provides a national strategic focus on skills in the vital sectors of the UK economy.
EPSRC’s broad remit provides a unique position among Research Councils to promote multidisciplinary research. Major advances typically occur at subject boundaries, and difficult real-world challenges require multidisciplinary approaches:
- EPSRC direct co-funding with other Research Councils worth a total of £134 million;
- we currently invests £120 million into traditionally non-EPS departments;
- EPSRC are a significant investor in all but one of the cross-Research Council Challenge Themes;
- by 2015/16 EPSRC and RCUK will further strengthen the way we support multidisciplinary research.
EPSRC develops and sustains strategic partnerships with others in the research and innovation ecosystem. We are strengthening our strategic partnership with the TSB to help maximise the public sector investment in the innovation landscape. We will ensure engagement of EPS researchers with the Catapults, and deliver joint working in priority areas including manufacturing, energy, advanced materials and emerging technologies for example synthetic biology and quantum technologies. Through EPSRC grants, we have already committed £129 million to co-funding the TSB.
The full delivery plan can be found here: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/newsevents/news/deliveryplan201516/.
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