Annex 3
Memorandum from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
BACKGROUND
1. The Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council (EPSRC) is the main UK government agency for
funding research and training in engineering and the physical
sciences, investing around £500 million a year in a broad
range of subjects—from mathematics to materials science,
and from information technology to structural engineering.
2. The Council operates to meet the needs
of industry and society by working in partnership with universities
to invest in people, scientific discovery and innovation. The
knowledge and expertise gained maintains a technological leading
edge, builds a strong economy and improves people's quality of
life.
3. The work of EPSRC is complementary to
other research investors including other Research Councils, government
agencies, industry and the European Union. The Council actively
engages in and encourages partnerships and collaborations across
disciplines, boundaries and the world.
4. EPSRC also actively promotes public engagement
in science, engineering and technology.
COMMENTS
5. EPSRC, in conjunction with other Research
Councils and other partners has developed a portfolio of research
which includes activities driven by climate change challenges.
For example:
— EPSRC, in collaboration with the
UK Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) funded by Defra, has assembled
a £3.2 million portfolio of research into the potential long-term
impacts of climate change on the built environment, transport
and utilities in the UK.
— Sponsorship, with the Carbon Trust,
of the Carbon Vision programme. This £14 million programme
will support research into low-carbon technologies. The first
£5.4 million consortia, Building for Low Carbon Communities,
will start in autumn 2004; it aims to demonstrate how carbon emissions
from the UK building stock can be reduced by 50% by 2030, and
to act as a catalyst for action to achieve these savings.
— The EPSRC SUPERGEN programme, described
in the introductory text.
— The Research Councils' Towards a
Sustainable Energy Economy Programme, with NERC and ESRC, and
UK Energy Research Centre.
— In collaboration with NERC and ESRC,
EPSRC also contributes £3.75M to the overall budget of £10
million over five years for the Tyndall Centre.
7. For further information on EPSRC support
for energy research please see the newly-published EPSRC Briefing
on Energy Research available at: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/Content/Publications/Other/BriefingNote8Energy.htm
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