Continue to maintain a balanced portfolio of research in different venues, including our five core-funded Institutes.
Cancer Research UK currently supports five core institutes, each specialising in different yet complementary areas of research:
The principal reasons for maintaining Institutes within the portfolio are:
- to make a long-term attack on important problems not easily addressed through grants; to promote inter-disciplinary research;
- to undertake highly competitive, innovative and pioneering research;
- to provide a high-quality environment in which to train and develop the scientists of the future;
- to enable the UK to secure access to or to retain world-class scientists in a competitive field; and
- to establish and provide access for the local research community to world-class infrastructure, resources, services and/or unique facilities.
During the years 2009-2014, our strategy is to:
- Ensure the development and implementation of well defined strategies for each of our core-funded Institutes that will be distinct, but coordinated with each other, particularly in terms of technologies and areas of world-class speciality.
- Develop Institutes that are basic and translational in focus, to complement the clinical focus provided through Centres.
- Work with the Medical Research Council (MRC), University College London (UCL) and the Wellcome Trust to establish the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI), incorporating our London Research Institute.
- Support the Director of the Beatson Institute in developing a drug discovery programme.
- Contribute to the building of a chemotherapeutics centre at the Paterson Institute and support the Director in developing a drug discovery programme.
- Maintain support for the Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology in Oxford and ensure its continued development.
- Roll centrally-provided Research Services into our Institutes.
- Devolve responsibility for core services to the London Research Institute and the Cambridge Research Institute to give them greater autonomy and to encourage greater flexibility and creativity.
What we will not do:
- We will not establish any new core-funded Institutes.
- We will not fund research overseas, except where there is an exceptional strategic reason to do so.
