Select Committee on Science and Technology Written Evidence


APPENDIX 26

Memorandum submitted by the Medical Research Council (MRC)

MRC FELLOWSHIPS

  Provision of training and career opportunities for clinical and non-clinical scientists is a key part of MRC's strategy. MRC provides 400 (at any one time) fellowships, with a value of £20 to £25 million pa. Support is provided through a comprehensive portfolio of personal award schemes ranging from pre/postdoctoral research training fellowships to career development opportunities for senior principal investigators.

  MRC currently operates seven fellowship schemes; in 2001-02 463 applications were received. So far this session 57 awards have been made and it is expected that a further 26 awards will be identified over the next month bringing the total to 83.

1.   Processing costs

  The total cost of processing all fellowship applications in 2001-02 was £102k, including some of the administrative costs that can be easily quantified, eg attendance fees for Panel Members and domestic expenses such as travel and accommodation. Infrastructure costs including IT resources, stationery costs etc cannot be easily estimated and are not included in the financial estimates below.

  The average cost per application is £220 (£102k/463)

2.   Summary of Schemes

  At each stage, separate schemes are tailored and targeted to the needs of clinical or non-clinical researchers.

  Clinical Fellowships, open to doctors, dentists, GPs, nurses and other professions allied to medicine;

  The Clinical Research Training Fellowship is the entry level or junior clinical fellowship and provides up to three years support for clinically qualified and active researchers to undertake a PhD. There are currently around 150 fellows and the award provides a salary, fixed level research support and conference allowance, Average lifetime value £128k.

  The Clinician Scientist Fellowship is MRC's intermediate clinical award, providing support for either four or five years depending on clinical commitments or tenure track commitments from the Host University. There are currently around 50 fellows and the award provides a salary, support staff, consumables, equipment and conference allowance. Average lifetime value £545k.

  The Senior Clinical Fellowship is a senior award for independent scientists/team leaders providing up to five years support; awards may renewed for a further five years in open competition. There are currently around 16 fellows and the award provides a salary, support staff, consumables, equipment and conference allowance. Average lifetime value £805k.

NON-CLINICAL FELLOWSHIPS

  The Research Training Fellowship is the junior non-clinical fellowship, providing support for up to three years for early post-doctoral research training. In recent years the scheme has not attracted many high quality applicants and it is planned to subsume into the intermediate scheme. There are currently around 45 fellows and support provided includes a salary, fixed level research support and conference allowance. (Scheme under review, no average costs available)

  The Career Development Award is the intermediate non-clinical award providing up to four years support. There are currently around 50 fellows and the award provides a salary, support staff, consumables, equipment and conference allowance. Average lifetime value £439k.

  The Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship is a senior award for independent scientists/team leaders providing up to five years support; awards may renewed for a further five years in open competition. There are currently around 40 fellows and the award provides a salary, support staff, consumables, equipment and conference allowance. Average lifetime value £855k.

STRATEGIC FELLOWSHIPS

  Most fellowship schemes are open to applicants across the MRC's remit. However, a number of Special Training Fellowships have been established to encourage research and increase workforce capacity in strategically important areas. These awards tend to be focused at the junior/entry level and awards are currently available in Bioinformatics and Neuroinformatics, Health Services Research and Health of the Public and Computational Biology.

3.   Key Features

Part-time Awards and Career Breaks

  MRC operates all of its fellowship schemes flexibly, there are no age limits for any of our schemes and consideration is given to applicants returning to science following a career break. Part-time awards will be considered for fellows with domestic responsibilities, and in exceptional circumstances for individuals with clinical commitments, in particular specialities or for particular groups, eg GPs.

  Awards can be held in abeyance for up to one year, normally to allow the fellow to undertake a concentrated period of clinical training; extended periods of maternity leave are also supported. All abeyance requests are considered and a decision based on an evaluation of the best interests of the project and the fellow's future research career.

Mentoring

  Informal mentoring structures are in place for all junior and intermediate fellows whose applications are supported by a sponsor or supervisor in their host department. More formal external mentoring programmes exist for the awards offered in partnership with the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Interdisciplinary Research

  At the heart of our mission MRC aims "to provide a range of funding schemes and opportunities designed to support the best science, and scientists, across the full spectrum of research disciplines relating to human health, and to encourage innovation and interdisciplinarity." Extract from MRC Strategic Plan 1999-03.

  Fellowships make a major contribution to MRC's portfolio of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research. This approach is encouraged particularly at the junior and intermediate level where applicants have the opportunity to undertake periods of training overseas, in UK industry or at a second research centre. The aim of such periods is to broaden the fellow's research experience and benefit longer-term career development while providing access to techniques, skills and facilities not available in the host department or institution. In addition fellows are encouraged to develop collaborations to facilitate interdisciplinary research and joint supervision is also encouraged where appropriate.

  MRC also provides a number of joint fellowship awards in partnership with other funding bodies such as the Department of Health, other Research Councils (currently PPARC and EPSRC) and some of the medical Royal Colleges. These partnerships have developed to promote interdisciplinary mobility between the physical and life sciences and where a need has been identified to build the clinical academic base.

June 2002




 
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