1 ALL EPSRC VISITS EPSRC plans and priorities

2 DIGITAL ECONOMY EPSRC lead AHRC ESRC MRC ENERGY EPSRC lead BBSRC ESRC NERC STFC NANOSCIENCE THROUGH ENGINEERING TO APPLICATION EPSRC lead BBSRC ESRC NERC STFC MRC LIVING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE EPSRC BBSRC ESRC NERC lead STFC MRC AHRC AGEING: LIFE LONG HEALTH & WELLBEING EPSRC BBSRC ESRC NERC STFC MRC lead AHRC RESPONDING TO GLOBAL CHALLENGES GLOBAL THREATS TO SECURITY EPSRC BBSRC ESRC lead NERC STFC MRC AHRC

3 EPSRC to EXPENDITURE £0M £200M £400M £600M £800M £1,000M Budget Full economic costs £795M £815M £843M Plans include: Our priority themes ETI Target for TSB collaboration RCUK priority themes

4 THE EPSRC CONTEXT EPSRC Delivery Plan 2008/09 to 2010/11 November 2007 Polaris House North Star Avenue Swindon, SN2 1ET

55 Increase focus on the key challenges for society Encourage even more ambitious and transformative research in a healthy research base Attract and nurture talented and skilled people Work with all partners to more effectively translate/understand how research can contribute to solving the challenges facing society Realign our own internal organisation to deliver our goals most effectively EPSRC GOALS

6 Living with environmental change (£9M) Global threats to security (£6M) Ageing: life-long health and wellbeing (£11M) THE WHOLE EPSRC PICTURE Values are commitment

7 THE NEW EPSRC ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE RESEARCH BASE Public Engagement Physical Sciences Materials, Mechanical & Medical Engineering Process, Environment & Sustainability Cross-Disciplinary Interfaces Research Infrastructure & International Information & Communications Technology Mathematical Sciences Programmes

8 THE NEW EPSRC ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE BUSINESS INNOVATION Digital Economy Nanoscience through Engineering to Application Energy Towards Next Generation Healthcare User led Knowledge and Skills User led Research

9 ESSENTIAL PLATFORM FOR A HEALTHY RESEARCH BASE Longer term international quality research to provide a vibrant and sustainable research environment able to respond to future challenges Key strategies: Supporting transformative research Community-led challenges More ambitious and flexible programmes of research for leading edge groups Signposting strategic areas Encouraging user collaboration

10 SECURING THE FUTURE SUPPLY OF PEOPLE Supporting talented people at all stages of their careers to ensure the UK has the people to support a healthy research base and economy Key strategies: Increased use of centre based approaches to align with strategy and to strengthen the international competitiveness of UK PhD Restructured fellowship scheme and alignment in part with focused themes Meeting users’ training needs Attracting the next generation of researchers Early stage career support

11 TOWARDS BETTER EXPLOITATION An emphasis on excellence with impact and the importance of people, to achieve the vision: “for the UK to be equally renowned for KT and innovation as it is for research discovery” Key strategies: Increase business-focused skills development/postgraduate training Accelerating the exploitation of research outputs to enhance business pull and address societal grand challenges

12 WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP

13 Universities KNOWLEDGE AND THE MARKET PLACE Discovery Understand Adapt/IntegrateValidateDeploy Industry and business Exploitation HEIF Initiation Application EPSRC ETI, TSB and other KT stakeholders Timescale to market in years; typically 5-20 Invent

14 CONCLUSIONS The major feature of our plans is the identification of key priority themes addressing important societal challenges All research disciplines have an important role to play in these themes The largest proportion of our budget is spend on investigator-led research and training We want to encourage researchers to be more ambitious Need for us all to demonstrate the wider impact of science and engineering research on society and the economy As a framework university you are a key stakeholder - we need to work together align our strategies

15 ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION How can you help us realise these goals?  Focus on the key challenges?  More ambitious research?  Reviewers? How can we work together to demonstrate impact?  Of additional FEC funding?  Of science and engineering research on society? What are the major drivers/forces you are considering as you develop your strategy?