Ewart The importance ofc ollaborative Research ... · • Collaborating and working with the best...

The importance of collaborative Research Infrastructures to the UK research landscapeCatherine Ewart, Head of Stakeholder and International Relations at the Science and Technology Facilities Council UK (STFC)

TheimportanceofcollaborativeResearchInfrastructures

totheUKResearchandInnovationlandscape

CatherineEwartHeadofStakeholderandInternationalRelations,ScienceandTechnologyFacilitiesCouncil(UK)

TowardsaEuropeanResearchInfrastructureforHeritageScience.Florence,29March2017

Whoweare• TheScienceandTechnologyFacilitiesCouncil

(STFC)

• OneoftheUK’s7ResearchCouncils:

• Wehaveseveralresearchinfrastructureroles:

• Policymaker(G7GSO,OECDGSF,H2020)

• Funder(Particlephysics,nuclearphysics,astronomyandsubscriptionstoprovideaccesstointernationalinfrastructures)

• Operator(UKresearchinfrastructures– ISIS,CLF,Hartree Centre,Diamond)

Ourinternationallinks• OfficesinBrussels,Washington,Beijing,Delhi

• CERN,Fermilab,DESY,KEK

• ESO,NSF,NWO

• ESA,NASA

• FAIR

• ESRF,ILL

• EuropeanX-FEL,EuropeanSpallationSource,SKA

• Networksofe.g.telescopesandsynchrotrons

WhyweneedcollaborativeRIs

• TheUK’sfuturecompetitivenessdependsonresearchcapability

• Thismeans:

• Investinginhighereducationandresearchinstitutions

• Accessingfirstclassresearchinfrastructures

• Collaboratingandworkingwiththebest

• Wherevertheyhappentobeintheworld!

• CollaborativeRIspromoteinternationalcooperation,interdisciplinaryresearchandinnovation

CollaborationisneededonaEuropeanandGlobalScale

• Limitedinvestmentfundsavailable

• IncreasinglevelofinfrastructureinvestmentneededtokeepRIsatthecuttingedge

• Researchproblemsrequirebroadsharingofdata,expertiseandequipmentandnetworkingbetweennationalnodes–distributedRIs

• Environmental,economic,societalchallengesdon’thaveboundariessocollaborationacrossbordersisessential

• Largephysicalsingle-sitedRIsinfrastructures

• E-infrastructures

• Collectionsofartefactsorreferencematerialsandsocialandbiologicaldatasets

• Atleast400researchinfrastructuresintheUK

• AllregionsoftheUKandallareasofresearch

• Atvariousscales– fromregionaltonationaltointernational

• Usersfromindustry(15%forSTFCRIs)– Siemens,GSK,Toyota,TataSteel,aswellasacademia

ArichanddiverseUKRIlandscape

PhotobyGRA

IN,O

ctober2010

PhotobyDAVIDILIFF.License:CC-BY-SA3.0

Imagecredit:D

avidMarcu

• 4outof5RIscollaboratewithpartnersoutsidetheUK

• Ofthese:o 96%collaboratewithEuropeancountries

o 91%collaboratewiththerestoftheworld

• UKparticipatesin18RIsontheESFRIRoadmap,21LandmarkESFRIsandmanyIntegratingActivities

• SignificantUKinvolvementinGlobalRIs(G7GSOFramework)

Ahighlycollaborativeenvironment

UKResearchandInnovation(UKRI)• Asingle,strategicbodythatwillbring

togetherthe7ResearchCouncils,InnovateUKandtheresearchandknowledgeexchangefunctionsofHEFCE

• FromApril2018- subjecttothepassageoftheHigherEducationandResearchBillthroughParliament

• AsinglevoicefortheUKresearchandinnovationcommunity

• Agreaterfocusonmulti- andinterdisciplinaryresearch

• ProfSirMarkWalport appointedasUKRIChiefExecutiveDesignate

Inconclusion• UKhasastrongcommitmenttoand

participationincollaborativeRIs• Thisappliesacrossthefullspectrumof

research• ThroughESFRIandIntegratedActivities

theUKhasbeenandcontinuestobeanactivepartner

• WelcomethelaunchofE-RIHS!

Thankyou!

Imagecredit:SergeyAshmarin