§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is now the policy of the Medical Research Council to fund only large. multicentre research projects; if so, from where they anticipate funds for small and basic medical research projects will be derived. [HL1163]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleThe MRC mission continues to be: to promote and support by any means high-quality basic, strategic and applied research and related postgraduate training in the biomedical and other sciences with the aim of maintaining and improving human health.
It is not the MRC's policy to fund only large multicentre research projects. The range of new research grants introduced by MRC in 1997 provides a variety of forms of support for response mode funding for research in universities. The combination of centre, co-operative group, programme, innovation, strategic project and new career establishment grants should provide sources of funding to suit scientists at different career stages.
The Co-operative Group Grant scheme in particular allows individual scientists to apply for funds on a small scale to work on their own project within a group where there are shared interests and facilities. Some 48 co-operative groups have already been established, widely spread geographically, and more are planned. The MRC has also modified its long-standing Programme Grant scheme to permit smaller scale resources than have hitherto been available.
MRC is monitoring closely the impact of the new schemes to ensure that they are operating effectively and that an appropriate balance is maintained between providing long term stability for research and new opportunities for young researchers.