The UK Research Councils are government agencies responsible for co-ordinating and funding particular areas of research, including the arts, humanties, all areas of science and engineering. They have five main functions, which are to:

• Fund basic, strategic and applied research.
• Support postgraduate training (PhDs and masters students and fellows).
• Advance knowledge and technology and provide services and trained scientists and engineers to contribute to the economic competitiveness, the effectiveness of public services and policy, and quality of life.
• Support science in society activities.
• Provide access for UK researchers to large research facilities, which it achieves either by owning them and operating them or through international subscriptions to major facilities such as the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire known as CERN The European Molecular Biology Laboratory ( EMBL) is a Molecular biology research institution supported by 20 European countries and Australia as associate member state

When engaging in joint action, the term Research Councils UK (RCUK) is used as a collective moniker. Research Councils UK (RCUK is a strategic partnership between the seven UK Research Councils. For the precise distinction, see their official website.

Organisation

Research councils are non-departmental government bodies incorporated by Royal Charter. In the United Kingdom, a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury and Scottish Government A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company They receive public funds from the Department of Trade and Industry through the Office of Science and Innovation and have a combined annual budget of around £2. The Department of Trade and Industry was a United Kingdom government department which was disbanded with the announcement of the creation of the Department for Business The Office of Science and Technology ( OST) later (briefly named the Office of Science and Innovation, was a Non-ministerial government department of the 8 billion. Of this over £1 billion is spent on research grants and training in UK higher education institutions, forming one element of the UK's dual support system of research funding. (The other is provided through block grants provided by the UK Funding Councils. )

Research Council grants currently support around 50,000 researchers through 18,000 grants and about 8000 PhDs are awarded annually as a result of their funding. The Councils employ around 13,000 directly of which 9,000 are researchers and technicians working in institutes and facilities such as the British Antarctic Survey, the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, the Roslin Institute and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS is the United Kingdom 's national Antarctic operator and has an active role in Antarctic affairs The Laboratory of Molecular Biology (or LMB) is a research institute in Cambridge England, which was at the forefront of the revolution in Molecular biology The Roslin Institute is a government research institute at Roslin, a village in Midlothian, Scotland, that is sponsored by the Biotechnology The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory ( RAL) is a scientific research laboratory at Chilton near Didcot in Oxfordshire, England.

Research Council funding is guided by the Haldane Principle the idea that research funding decisions are made independently from Government. The Haldane principle in British research policy is the idea that decisions about what to spend research funds on should be made by researchers rather than politicians

Councils

There are seven Research Councils:

• Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC website)
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC website)
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC website)
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC website)
• Medical Research Council (MRC website)
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC website)
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC website)

Prior to April 2007 there were two independent councils, PPARC (the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council) and CCLRC (the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils) which primarily funded research in areas of the physical sciences. The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC is a British Research Council and Non-Departmental Public Body that provides government funding Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC is a British Research Council and Non-Departmental Public Body supporting several scientific The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ( EPSRC) is a British The Economic and Social Research Council ( ESRC) is one of the seven Research Councils in the United Kingdom. The Medical Research Council (MRC is a UK organisation dedicated to "promot the balanced development of medical and related biological research The Natural Environment Research Council ( NERC) is a British research council that supports research training and The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in Science and Engineering, and funds UK research The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (or PPARC) was one of a number of Research Councils in the United Kingdom. The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils ( CCLRC, previously CLRC) was a UK government body that carried out civil research in These were combined to the form the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in Science and Engineering, and funds UK research

The MRC has its head office in central London, the AHRC is based in Bristol and the other five research councils and RCUK operate from a single complex in Swindon. The Medical Research Council (MRC is a UK organisation dedicated to "promot the balanced development of medical and related biological research London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC is a British Research Council and Non-Departmental Public Body that provides government funding Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London Swindon ( is a large town in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in the South West of England, midway between Bristol (64 km / 40 miles The Research Councils have a joint Office in Brussels - the United Kingdom Research Office (UKRO).

History

Although the MRC has a longer pedigree, dating back to 1913, the establishment of the other core Councils dates back to the Science & Technology Act of 1965. This created the Science Research Council (SRC) and NERC. Also founded in 1965 was the Social Sciences Research Council, later to become ESRC. The SRC became the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) in the early 1980s and in 1994 split into EPSRC and PPARC.