APPENDIX 75
Memorandum from Professor Grant and Professor
Trainor, University College, London
At its meeting on 29 July 2004, the Council
of the MRC agreed in principle to relocate the National Institute
for Medical Research at an academic/hospital campus in Central
London. It asked our two institutions to submit bids to host the
Institute. This decision followed the recommendations of a Task
Force which had been set up to consider the future of the NIMR,
and was confirmed at its meeting on 13 October. The bids will
be considered at the Council's meeting on 15 December, when it
is expected that a preferred bidder will be chosen. The issue
will return to the Council in February when the detailed business
case to be taken forward to the Office of Science and Technology
will be considered.
The future of NIMR is a matter of great importance
to the development of biomedical science in the UK scientific
community. We both share the MRC Council's view that to the greatest
extent possible their decision-making should be through a transparent
process. We wish to express our support for the principle behind
the Task Force's recommendation and the Council's decisions to
date. We also wish to express our confidence in the decision-making
process established by the Council. The Committee can be assured
that the MRC staff and its advisors have worked carefully to ensure
that both institutions are able to present their best cases in
such a way as to allow the Council to make a fair comparison between
the two.
The case for relocation was made clearly in
the Task Force's report. Few would question the need to ensure
that the full benefits of advances in medical science are reflected
in advances in public health. The translation of basic scientific
research into clinical practice must therefore be a high priority.
This requires bringing the scientific and clinical endeavours
into close proximity. For this reason NIMR's move from Mill Hill
to an established and integrated hospital/research environment
in Central London will result in a step change in the Institute's
capacity to engage in translational research. Either site will
enable NIMR scientists to participate actively in London's extensive
networks of high-quality research as well as maintain national
and international collaborations.
We would regret any delay to the process established
by the MRC Council. This would add to the current uncertainty
and complicate the forward planning of our own institutions as
well as NIMR. The proposed move will ensure that the public will
get even greater value out of the considerable resources expended
on scientific research and lead to important breakthroughs in
clinical practice earlier and more efficiently than might otherwise
be achieved.
23 November 2004
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