MEMORANDUM 20
Submission from the Met Office[22]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. Research Councils, government departments
and department agencies, including the Met Office, currently work
together in a number of areas to coordinate UK engagement and
influence on the international stage. There is a continual need
to focus national coordination on meeting user and policy requirements,
primarily to convert R&D funding into tangible benefits to
national and international economies, communities and the environment.
Continued engagement between these bodies is required to support
top level UK government priorities such as climate change and
the UK's input to, and influence upon, international policies
and funding programmes.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
THROUGH THE
EU FRAMEWORK
2. The Met Office participates in the EU
Framework Programmes as a consortium partner in a number of FP6
projects, as the Coordinator of a large FP6 Integrated Project
(ENSEMBLES), and as a partner in a number of project proposals
responding to the first call opportunities under FP7. The Met
Office's participates using a cost model which accesses 50% funding
from the European Commission, and requires matching funding from
internal programmes. A majority of FP projects require matching
funding from the Met Office's contract with Defra. Within ENSEMBLES
there are seven UK research institutions who are partners. They
attract 100% funding from the European Commission for work effort
within the project. This does not directly leverage support from
Research Council resources. However, permanent University staff
provide additional research leadership to the project through
their positions funded by the Research Councils.
3. It has been the Met Office's experience
that reporting procedures, auditing procedures and the requirements
for project consortia partners (large number, recent member states
and SME participation) can lead to administrative and management
overheads which reduce the efficiency and effectiveness of Commission
funding.
4. The Met Office feels it is important
that R&D funding (eg through the Framework Programmes) is
converted into tangible benefits to the European economy (the
Lisbon Agenda). The Met Office brings a user focus to UK engagement
in the Framework Programme series; R&D collaboration with
European partners is converted into improvements in climate and
weather related products and services provided by the Met Office.
A review of national engagement in the Framework Programme series
to support UK priorities and investment would be beneficial, particularly
now FP6 calls have closed.
THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF COLLABORATION
BETWEEN THE
RESEARCH COUNCILS
AND THE
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS
INVOLVED IN
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC
ACTIVITIES
5. The Met Office has recently been working
closely with NERC and Defra national contacts in developing the
UK priorities for the FP7 Cooperations: Environment (incl. climate
change) specific programme and detailed work programme calls.
This coordination between NERC and Defra is encouraging in influencing
international scientific activities through eg the Framework Programme
series. Continued development of such departmental and research
council coordination across government will be beneficial in representing
UK government top level priorities such as climate change.
The strengths and weaknesses of existing Research
Council and OSI mechanisms and activities to maintain and promote
international collaboration.
6. Last autumn (2006), Defra led a cross-government
group consultancy process with DTI, NERC, BNSC and the Met Office
to develop a paper for taking a more strategic and long-term approach
to the UK's future global environment data and monitoring needs,
particularly with respect to engagement in European and international
initiatives. Recently the DG of OSI and the DG of the Strategy
and Evidence Group, Defra have jointly instigated a mechanism
to address these issues. They argue that a government-wide strategy
is required for the acquisition (including funding) and use of
data and evidence on the global environment to support the UK's
role on climate change and other global environmental issues.
A strategy will need to take account of:
— the need to share costs and ensure
value for money through partnerships (public and private, as appropriate);
— the UK's desired role in EU and other
international systems and initiatives in this area;
— existing UK commitments such as through
G8 and the Global Environment Observing Systems of Systems (GEOSS)
initiative;
— the need to use consistent and reliable
data across a wide spread of policy areas;
— evolving policy development and associated
data demands;
— the need to avoid duplication of
existing programmes and processes.
7. The Met Office is supportive of, and
encourages, this Defra/OSI activity to develop a framework for
UK funding of cross-cutting, European and global environmental
information initiatives to support top level government priorities
such as climate change.
April 2007
22 The Met Office is an Executive Agency of the Ministry
of Defence. Back
| 
