I am on the train back from taking part in a parallel universe (ok, session) about 'impact' at the Professional Association of Research Managers and Administrators (PARMA) annual conference in Manchester. When I get abck I am looking forward to catching up on the second of the Reith Lectures being given this year by Lord Rees, President of … Continue reading The Reith Lectures, Lord Rees and Science Citizenship
AMRC
The NHS as a global winner….and more on research collaborations
A quiet moment in the wake of the Bank Holiday allows me to do a quick post to draw you attention to two pieces of work - one completed, the other ongoing - here at AMRC. The first is a report of a seminar we held with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in … Continue reading The NHS as a global winner….and more on research collaborations
Challenge for Government
So, this week, we began rolling out our 'Challenge for Government' document to Government, MPs, Peers and policy-makers (you can find out more about it by clicking on the page link above and following the links to our dedicated website). Some might want to call 'Challenge for Government' a manifesto. But I hope and believe … Continue reading Challenge for Government
UKCMRI and other news
In Manchester at the Lowry Centre today for the NHS R&D Forum conference. I have fond memories of Manchester having spent some of my childhood growing up near Wilmslow. Indeed, it was on a hot sunny day such as this that I remember myself and umpteen other seven year olds sitting on a gym mat listening to … Continue reading UKCMRI and other news
ReSET – a final word
Welcome confirmation on the Department of Health's website today, that they will not be going ahead with the implementation of the ReSET Guidance on the attribution of NHS non-commercial Research costs, Support costs and Treatment costs. As you'll know from my blog over recent months, ReSET was causing very real concerns within the charity sector … Continue reading ReSET – a final word
Science Minister Speaks
The new Science Minister, David Willetts MP, gave his first press briefing at the Science Media Centre yesterday. His comments have been reported in a number of places including the BBC. But Mark Henderson's blog at The Times is the most detailed. The Minister seems to have handled the funding question in the only … Continue reading Science Minister Speaks
Charities and peer review
I am often asked how medical research charities ensure that the funds they raise are awarded to the best science and the best scientists. It is a condition of AMRC membership that charities must be able to demonstrate a clear process for the independent external peer review and funding of research grants as well as … Continue reading Charities and peer review
The Coalition Government and Science
As a follow-up to my post yesterday before the formation of the Conservative/Lib Dem Coalition Government, you might want to look at this article by Geoff Brumfiel at naturenews which looks at the coalition agreement published today and speculates what it might mean for science. Interestingly I noticed on the Downing Street website this evening … Continue reading The Coalition Government and Science
Everything has changed, nothing has changed
It was only this week it dawned on me that, in our gripping and rapidly daunting state of statelessness, I had entered a self-imposed state of purdah with my blog. For no reason at all. No more... If you are looking for some insight on what a hung parliament will mean for science then you … Continue reading Everything has changed, nothing has changed
More on clinical research regulation
I have a faint recollection from my time living in the US, that Fox News channel ran a regular item on its late evening news programme which was called 'Information Overload' - a 30 second snippet of 'news you can use' - backed by heavy rock music. I pass the following on with the same … Continue reading More on clinical research regulation
ReSET – the costs of clinical research
ReSET, otherwise known as the Department of Health's guidance on the attribution of NHS non-commercial Research costs, NHS Support Costs and Treatment Costs, was published two weeks ago. Very simply it sets out who - the NHS, Department of Health, or research funder - should pay for which component of running a research study such as … Continue reading ReSET – the costs of clinical research
Good news on medical research regulation
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, paid a visit to the Wellcome Trust this morning and announced a clutch of initiatives including: £250 million investment in 2010/11 for the new world-class medical research centre at St Pancras in London which will bring together research teams to tackle major medical challenges. The … Continue reading Good news on medical research regulation
The Budget
This being Budget day, I couldn't help but feel that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling, must have woken this morning and felt some empathy with the dung beetle with whom he was sharing the news headlines. Those who missed this particular item on the BBC will want to know that, after months of study, the … Continue reading The Budget
Unfinished business – clinical research
There has been much to dwell upon since our workshop for member charities 'Clinical research - working with NIHR' a fortnight ago. This is the fourth workshop on clinical research that AMRC has held in as many years. Each has attracted more delegates than the one before - a fact indicative of the increasing interest among … Continue reading Unfinished business – clinical research
Research charities on the world stage
Occasionally I post things up on the blog simply to illustrate different aspects of how UK medical research charities work. Last week the office noticed this rather cool interactive research map produced by the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) which shows the different projects supported by MRF around the world. A good example is its project … Continue reading Research charities on the world stage
Charity research in the recession
Today's article in the Law Society Gazette ('Charities may be in for a difficult year, but there remains cause for hope') prompts me to report on the results of AMRC's latest survey of its member charities and how they are faring in the recession. As you may remember AMRC's survey in March last year attracted … Continue reading Charity research in the recession
Science Debate
The defining difference between national preparedness for snow in a country such as the US and one that is less so, like the UK, is this: in the States they carry snow chains in their car; in the UK we carry cat litter if we are lucky. Preparedness - and more specifically preparedness for Government - is … Continue reading Science Debate
Clinical Trials
A Happy New Year to you all. Given that we are all likely to have to suffer several months of phoney elections wars not to mention the odd leadership coup that isn't I thought it would be refreshing to start the year off with a hard, solid fact. In 2008-2009, AMRC's member charities funded 166 … Continue reading Clinical Trials
Patient consent and research
A colleague in the office sent me a link this week to a piece by Professor Anthony Mathur on the BBC Online's 'Scrubbing Up' pages in which he argues that if people want treatment for a heart problem, they should be obliged to take part in the research. The very same day I got home to a … Continue reading Patient consent and research
'Health research cuts'
Today's 'exclusive' in the The Times online headlined 'Cancer research at risk in scramble for care funds' has caused understandable concern and outrage. It is an interesting piece based on comments made to The Times by the Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham MP. But some background may help us get a better perspective on … Continue reading 'Health research cuts'
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