Inquiry into the science budget and Industrial Strategy
Response to the House of Commons S&T Committee October 2017
The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) is a membership organisation of the leading medical and health charities funding research in the UK. We represent 140 medical research charities including the Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.
Our response to the Committee’s inquiry into the science budget and Industrial Strategy highlights the Charity Research Support Fund (CRSF) and the medical research charity sector’s call that it is increased in line with the recommendation within the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.
Summary
Medical research charities are key investors in the UK’s science and research landscape; in 2016, AMRC’s members invested over £1.6 billion of research funding in the UK.
Charity investment in R&D has a significant impact on the UK economy and is aligned with the aims of Government’s Industrial Strategy.
In 2016, 88% of all UK medical research funded by AMRC’s members took place directly in universities; this was underpinned by the Charity Research Support Fund (CRSF).
The CRSF is part of QR funding and enables universities to leverage charity funding by contributing to the indirect costs of research that charities do not pay.
Since 2010, the CRSF has been fixed at £198 million per year. During this time, the relative value of the fund has been eroded by both inflation and an increase in charity funding.
The flat rate of the CRSF means that it is increasingly difficult for universities doing charity-funded research to cover their costs and the sustainability of medical research charity investment in universities is at risk.
Our ask: It is vital that Government recognise that increasing the CRSF is an opportunity to leverage the contributions of medical research charities towards achieving the aims of the Industrial Strategy.
As part of the Industrial Strategy ‘sector deal’ approach, the CRSF must be increased as recommended in the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy using the new money for R&D announced at Autumn Statement 2016.
Charity investment in R&D is aligned with the aims of Government’s Industrial Strategy
Medical research charities are key investors in the UK’s science and research landscape. In 2016, AMRC’s members:
invested over £1.6 billion of research funding in the UK - more than either the Medical Research Council or National Institute for Health Research; made capital investments of £86 million in the UK; contributed to the knowledge economy by funding the salaries of over 17,000 researchers in the UK; and funded around a third of non-commercial research in the NHS.
AMRC response to House of Commons Science and Technology Committee inquiry into the science budget and the Industrial Strategy, October 2017 1 Charity investment in R&D has a significant impact on the UK economy. Every £1 of public or charity investment in medical research generates monetised health benefits of 7-10p each year, forever, as well as 15-18p of additional spill over benefits in the wider economy.1
The CRSF unlocks the investment power of charities in university research
The Charity Research Support Fund (CRSF) underpins charity investment in university research across England (similar funds are provided in the devolved nations). It is administered as part of quality-related (QR) funding by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). In 2016, 88% of all UK medical research funded by AMRC’s members took place directly in universities.
The CRSF enables universities to leverage research funding from charities; it allows institutions that receive charitable funding to recover costs of research that charities do not pay. These costs are known as indirect costs and include estates, shared IT and administration overheads.
Charities pay the direct costs of research because of the way they are funded. Charities exist because of donations from the public and philanthropists; in 2016 over 8 million people donated to medical research. 2 When people donate, they expect their money to be spent on research to ultimately benefit patients. This means that charities do not pay the indirect costs of research.
The flat rate of the CRSF is threatening the sustainability of charity-funded university research
Since 2010, the CRSF has been fixed at £198 million per year. During this time, the value of the fund has been eroded by both inflation and an increase in charity funding. The value of the fund has fallen from 28p of CRSF received by universities for every £1 of charity investment in 2010/11 to less than 20p per £1 in 2017/18. It is therefore increasingly difficult for universities doing charity-funded research to cover their costs and the sustainability of medical research charity investment in universities is at risk.
Some of AMRC’s members have experienced reluctance within universities to take their grants as a result of the freeze on the CRSF. Furthermore, some researchers funded by our member charities are reporting they are being actively discouraged by their institutions to apply for charity grants.
Increasing the CRSF will contribute towards achieving the aims of the Industrial Strategy
Increasing the Charity Research Support Fund (CRSF) will strengthen the wider UK life sciences ecosystem, a key sector identified within Government Industrial Strategy, by supporting further charity investment. It is vital that Government recognise that increasing the CRSF is an opportunity to leverage the contributions of medical research charities towards achieving the aims of the Industrial Strategy.
The recommendation that the CRSF be enhanced to ensure the environment remains supportive of charitable contributions to the science base was recommended in the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy, the report put forward by the sector to Government.
As part of the Industrial Strategy ‘sector deal’ approach, and using the new money for R&D announced at Autumn Statement 2016, AMRC and our members are calling on Government to increase the CRSF in real terms in line with inflation and charity investment.
New money for R&D should be allocated in line with the ‘balanced funding principle’
It is vital that new money for science and research is allocated by Government in line with the ‘balanced funding principle’ between both challenge-led funding and university block funding in order to ensure optimal functioning of the research landscape.
1 RAND Europe, Health Economics Research Group at Brunel University and King’s College London (2014) Medical Research: What’s it worth? Estimating the economic benefits of cancer-related research in the UK. Commissioned by: Academy of Medical Sciences, Cancer Research UK, the Department of Health and the Wellcome Trust http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/stellent/groups/corporatesite/@policy_communications/documents/we b_document/wtp056595.pdf 2 https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/publications/2017-publications/uk-giving-report-2017 AMRC response to House of Commons Science and Technology Committee inquiry into the science budget and the Industrial Strategy, October 2017 2