Has EQUAL led to more research
on ageing and have the Research Councils diverted funds towards
ageing research?
53. It is difficult to determine whether or not EQUAL
has made a significant difference to the Research Councils' funding
of ageing-related research. Much research may be indirectly relevant
to ageing and it is not possible to determine how much money would
have been committed to ageing-related research in the absence
of EQUAL.[87]
Lord Sainsbury agreed that it is difficult to say whether the
research would have happened without EQUAL, but he thought it
"pretty clear" that the EPSRC work on the built environment
would not have taken place.[88]
54. The OST's memorandum stated that "EQUAL
has been very successful in raising the profile of this important
research area within the Research Councils.".[89]
In support of this statement it said:
"In the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Science
Budget received the largest percentage increase compared with
all Departmental Budgets. At least half this money is for the
life sciences, including some £150 million to BBSRC and MRC.
As EQUAL continues to be identified as a priority area for the
Research Councils, it will inevitably benefit from this increased
investment in the science base".[90]
This is more a statement of hope than of fact. The
proportion of their budgets which the Research Councils have actually
committed to EQUAL has been relatively small (this view being
supported by, for example, Dr Metz who said that in his opinion
the scale of funding had been quite modest).[91]
55. The funds committed to EQUAL-related research
by the four Research Councils involved, and their total budgets
are as follows:
| Funds committed to EQUAL
| Total Allocation (2001-2002)
|
BBSRC | £5.4 million over 3 years
| £213 million |
EPSRC | £3.27 million over 3 years
| £436 million |
ESRC | £4.5 million over 5 years
| £74 million |
MRC[92]
| £16.5 million in 1998/99 with an additional £12.5 million this year (this excludes £42 million spent on research on heart disease & cancer, and £2 million on LINK projects).
| £349 million |
56. Most of our witnesses considered that EQUAL had
encouraged more ageing-related research, but only by a small degree.[93]
Professor Radda told us that in his opinion the correct balance
had been struck, because research on ageing was on the increase.[94]
Research into Ageing said that EQUAL had certainly stimulated
research, although there was a risk that it might have raised
expectations and stimulated new research communities which it
would not be able to continue funding.[95]
It is impossible to find universally acceptable benchmarks against
which to justify the expenditure on ageing research of a certain
proportion of research council budgets; nonetheless the argument
made by some Research Council witnessesthat all good research
proposals had been funded,[96]
and therefore the budgets allocated had been sufficientremains
open to question; nor does it account for the fact that many researchers
may be dissuaded from submitting 'good' research proposals, a
lengthy and resource-consuming activity in itself, by a recognition
of the limited funding available. Moreover, if adequate time had
been made available for the formation of new research partnerships,
the Research Councils might have received more high-quality proposals.
57. Another potential difficulty highlighted to us
lies in the availability of the best scientists who will engage
in research related to ageing. We were told by BBSRC that of the
140 applications they received as a result of their call for research
proposals under their SAGE initiative, a surprising number of
bids were "very poor indeed". Mr Game, of the BBSRC
told us that this "Reflects the fact that this is very much
a trendy area. It is a bandwagon area where.... people who are
less successful than some of their colleagues thought: "Oh
well, I might as well go for this. It is something new""
.[97]
Has EQUAL led Research Councils
to target particular new areas of research?
58. There was some confidence that EQUAL had stimulated
research in several new areas;[98]
and Lord Sainsbury said he did not know of any essential research
topics on ageing which were being ignored[99]
(but see below for other views about continuing research gaps).
Others argued that there was little evidence that EQUAL had led
to new areas of researchbut rather to re-packaging of projects
under an EQUAL banner or to work that would have been funded anyway
under responsive mode.
59. Among specific aspects mentioned as having been
stimulated by EQUAL were
(a) The culture of
the EPSRC was shifted away from an almost exclusive focus on science
and engineering towards the traditions of health, medical and
social sciences.[100]
Similarly Dr Metz said that the EPSRC's two programmes were clearly
due to EQUAL: he told us that it "would have been difficult
to get funded through their normal grant mechanisms".[101]
(b) The MRC has introduced
some new programmes of work such as research on early origins
for adult disease, a centre for the study of cognitive decline
and ageing, a centre for clinical brain ageing, and research on
osteoporosis.[102]
(c) The BBSRC and the
ESRC are also clearly addressing EQUAL issues through their 'Science
of Ageing' and 'Growing Older' Programmes (though the SAGE programme
was devised before EQUAL, and it remains to be seen how distinctive
a contribution the'Growing Older' programme makes to the EQUAL
themes).
60. The kind of evaluation needed in order to determine
the success of the EQUAL programme is one that could have been
carried out by a more involved co-ordinating committee. It is
a weakness of the programme that none was set up to do this.
55 Q 80. Back
56
Evidence, p 88. See also Evidence, pp 52 - 54, paragraphs
4 and 6; p 55; p 78, paragraph 3; and Q 31. Back
57
Evidence, pp 52-54; p 56. Back
58
Evidence, pp 92-93. Back
59
Q 32. Back
60
Evidence, p 18, paragraph 10. Back
61
Q 82. Back
62
Evidence, p 49, paragraph 7. Back
63
Q 20. Back
64
Q 124. Back
65
Qq 150 and 151. Back
66
Evidence, p 15. Back
67
Q 176; Evidence, p 52, paragraph 4. Back
68
Evidence, p 49, paragraph 8. Back
69
Q 7. Back
70
Evidence, p 88. Back
71
Evidence, p 86. Back
72
Q 191; Evidence, p 3, paragraph 20. Back
73
Q 118. Back
74
Evidence, p 74, paragraph 5. Back
75
Q 130. Back
76
Evidence, p 91. Back
77
See Q 48. Back
78
Evidence, p 54, paragraph 7. Back
79
Evidence, p 66, paragraph 2. Back
80
Q 119. Back
81
Q 60. Back
82
Evidence, p 2, paragraph 8. Back
83
Q 33. Back
84
Q 72. Back
85
Q 104. Back
86
Q 153. Back
87
Q 52. Back
88
Q 118. Back
89
Evidence, p 28, paragraph 4. Back
90
Ibid. Back
91
Q 12. Back
92
MRC have not committed any funding to EQUAL. What is shown is
its spending on areas of research broadly related to the problems
of ageing. Back
93
See, for instance, Q 179. Back
94
Q 61. Back
95
Evidence, p 87. Back
96
See, for instance, Q 71. Back
97
Q 42. Back
98
Evidence, p 87. Back
99
Q 120. Back
100
Evidence, p 49, paragraph 6; p 79. Back
101
Q 11. Back
102
Q 51. Back