Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRCANNUAL EPSRCREPORT AND EPSRC ACCOUNTS EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC2010 -EPSRC 2011 EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC EPSRC ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2010-2011 Presented to Parliament pursuant to Schedule 1 of the Science and Technology Act 1965 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 24 November 2011 HC 1614 London: The Stationery Office £20.50 © Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (2011) The text of this document (this excludes, where present, the Royal Arms and all departmental and agency logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing that it is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council copyright and the document title specified. Where third party material has been identified, permission from the respective copyright holder must be sought. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at: [email protected]. This publication is available for download at www.official-documents.gov.uk. This document is also available from our website at: www.epsrc.ac.uk. ISBN: 9780102974775 Printed in the UK for the Stationery Office Limited on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. ID: 2447943 11/11 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum. CONTENTS 05 CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD 06 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S INTRODUCTION 08 SUMMARY OF ACHIEVEMENTS 15 PROGRESS AGAINST DELIVERY PLAN GOALS AND MILESTONES 17 HEALTHY RESEARCH BASE 18 Supporting excellence 19 Our portfolio 21 Rigorous review 22 Achieving transformation 23 Fostering international partnerships 24 Maintaining the flow of skilled researchers 24 New centres of training excellence 27 Sponsoring world-class research leaders 30 Developing Leaders – our future approach 30 Access to the best large-scale research facilities 32 GREATER ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT 34 Knowledge exchange 36 EPSRC Centres for Innovative Manufacturing 36 Key Strategic Partnerships for prosperity 37 Partnering the Technology Strategy Board 38 Innovation and Knowledge Centres 38 Spin-out successes 39 User-led skills 39 Global, economic and societal challenge themes 40 Energy 42 Digital Economy 44 Nanoscience through Engineering to Application 46 Healthcare 3 48 EPSRC’s contribution to other cross-council themes 48 Living With Environmental Change 48 Global Uncertainties 48 Lifelong Health & Wellbeing 49 Public engagement with research 49 Bloodhound SSC 49 Synthetic biology dialogue 50 The ethics of robots 51 High profile champions 51 EPSRC’s future approach 51 Driving efficiency 53 NET RESOURCE AND CAPITAL OUTTURN 54 MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY 59 MEMBERSHIP LISTS 62 REGISTER OF INTEREST 70 ACCOUNTS 70 Remuneration report 75 Statement on internal control 81 Certificate and report of the comptroller and auditor general 83 Statement of account 87 Notes to the accounts 4 PIONEERING THE FUTURE JOHN ARMITT CHAIRMAN In accordance The UK research base remains at the heart of world-leading advances in with Schedule 1 engineering and physical sciences. This year we invested over £800 million in to the Science and pioneering research and training to help meet the many global challenges facing Technology Act 1965, the Engineering and the UK: an ageing population; the need for low-carbon energy alternatives; Physical Sciences global security threats; the impact of climate change; the urgent need for new Research Council sustainable manufacturing technologies. submits the following report on its activities Manufacturing is a key part of our strategy and this year we strengthened our for the period 01 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. portfolio with a £45 million investment in new EPSRC Centres for Innovative Manufacturing. These centres will work with leading manufacturers to help generate new ideas and mould-breaking technologies to fuel growth, open up exciting new markets and create employment opportunities. This investment also reflects our commitment to PhD training in centres of international research excellence. To support these investments we have brokered multidisciplinary partnerships across academia, business, government and other stakeholders, which in total has generated £131 million in additional funding; ensuring our best scientists and engineers have the resources and opportunities they need to fully realise and accelerate the impact of their research. Evidence of the quality of our portfolio came from the influential magazine The Engineer in its 2010 Technology & Innovation Awards, when collaborative engineering projects co-funded and/or inspired by EPSRC research won six out of a possible ten categories with projects ranging from organic LED technology to radar-generated CCTV systems and sports technology. Following the publication of our Strategic Plan, which introduced our goals of Delivering Impact, Shaping Capability and Developing Leaders, we have now published our Delivery Plan for 2011-15, through which we are committed to playing a more proactive role in shaping our research and training portfolio. We will be moving progressively from being a funder of research and training to a sponsor, where our investments act as a national resource focused on outcomes for national good. This transformational leadership approach will condition everything we do and the way we work with our community and other key partners and stakeholders leading to deepening relationships, mutual trust and greater understanding. In an era of austerity, it is especially important for EPSRC and the scientists and engineers it supports to maximise the return from the public’s investment. I am confident that together we can meet this challenge and help forge a bright future for the UK and its people. John Armitt Chairman ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL 5 ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2010-2011 DELIVERING GREATER IMPACT DAVID DELPY CHIEF EXECUTIVE This year marks the end of our 2008-11 Delivery for their quality, productivity, and employability. Plan period. The achievements over the past CDTs provide PhD students with access to the three years will position us to meet our ambitious finest academic teaching within university-based agenda as we embark on our new Delivery Plan. centres of excellence. They also maximise the This report provides a snapshot of some of the flexibility of EPSRC Doctoral Training Grants – highlights for 2010/11 and also outlines some of four-year awards made to universities based on our key achievements during the Delivery Plan research grant income. 7,300 period as a whole. We have continued to broker relationships This year we supported over 7,300 researchers between business and universities through This year we suppported over through 5,847 grants and funded a population five new EPSRC Industrial Doctorate Centres, 7,300 researchers. of over 10,000 PhD students as part of our which provide the same training environment as commitment to long-term investment in CDTs but with a strong industrial focus, leading discovery and challenge-led research. to an engineering doctorate. These centres focus on developing future business leaders in If proof were needed of this commitment we key areas of advanced manufacturing, ranging need look no further than Professor Andre Geim from aerospace and the automotive industry to and Dr Konstantin Novoselov, of the University sustainable energy solutions. of Manchester, who were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics for their discovery To protect the quality of PhD training, this year and subsequent research into graphene. This we ceased our support of project studentships extraordinary material is just one atom thick yet on research grants. This will afford some stronger than steel and considered a superior protection to other priority routes for supporting alternative to silicon, the main component studentships, including CDTs, and will enable of microchips. EPSRC-funded support for us to focus on consistently high-quality training Professor Geim’s research began in 2001, and within centres of excellence and with proven led to the discovery of graphene three years benefits for all. Part of this strategy involves later. In 2009 we awarded a further £5 million focusing more support in key strategic areas, to Professor Geim and his team to further their such as manufacturing, through initiatives like research into graphene. Industrial CASE awards, where businesses take the lead in arranging projects for PhD We continue to support visionary leaders through studentships with an academic partner of their awards such as our flagship Programme Grants, choice. This year we made 57 further Industrial which enable world-leading research groups to CASE awards. carry out projects with the potential for ground- breaking impact on society and our economy. In the vital area of manufacturing, we invested This year we invested over £82 million in 19 £45 million in nine new EPSRC