Open Activities
-
Quantum Computing Scalability Conference 2025: Poster Form
Scaling quantum computers is central to the NQCC’s mission. Identifying bottlenecks and addressing the most pressing challenges are critical steps toward building efficient roadmaps and supporting the growth of the UK quantum computing ecosystem. The NQCC’s Quantum Computing Scalability Conference...
Closes today
-
ROCG Funding Policy Team Survey
We are conducting this survey to gather your valuable feedback on the performance of the Funding Policy Team. Your responses will help us improve our services and better support you.
Closes 16 April 2025
-
24RM3 Feedback - Applicants
24RM3 Feedback
Closes 30 April 2025
-
24RM3 Feedback - Chairs and Panel Members
24RM3 Feedback
Closes 30 April 2025
-
BMBR awardee event - diversity monitoring
We would like to collect some diversity monitoring information from those who attended the ‘Understanding public involvement in non-clinical research’ Awardee Event on 5 March 2025. If you would like to answer these questions please select the 'Diversity monitoring questions' link...
Closes 30 April 2025
-
Innovate UK Post Event Feedback Survey
Thank you for taking part and contributing to the Innovate UK CEO Portfolio and Future Talent event in London & Birmingham on the 1st &7th March. The purpose of this survey is to capture your valuable insights and perspectives on how the event, venue, layout, workshops and panels were...
Closes 30 April 2025
-
Celebrating Achievements & Shaping the Future of National Timing Technologies
As a participant in the National Timing Centre programme, Innovate UK and NPL would appreciate your input on some key questions that will help guide future decisions on funding, scope, and support. Your feedback will be essential in shaping the next phase of the programme and ensuring we continue...
Closes 30 April 2025
-
NQCC's Quantum Hackathon 2025: Guidance and Initial Feedback Form
The NQCC’s 4th annual UK Quantum Hackathon will take place on the 21st-23rd July at the University of Edinburgh. A recording of the end user webinar outlining the process for use case submission is available upon request. Please email nqcchackathon@stfc.ac.uk to request the recording. ...
Closes 16 May 2025
-
Have Your Say: RSS Report
This survey seeks to gather reflections on the statistical analysis of EPSRC's portfolio undertaken by the Royal Statistical Society. The report is linked on this webpage Collecting and analysing diversity data – UKRI
Closes 22 May 2025
Closed Activities
-
UKRI website publishing user perception survey 2025
This survey consists of 10 questions and should take about three minutes to complete. It asks about your use of the UKRI web publishing process and any improvements that would make your experience better. The information you provide will be used by the web team to help plan...
Closed 31 March 2025
-
Applicant Briefing
We’re considering a change to the applicant briefing process for our competitions. At present, we provide a presentation that covers the application system (Innovation Funding Service), the scope and eligibility criteria all in one. We are proposing to split this up and have a pre-recorded...
Closed 31 March 2025
-
BBSRC Sparking Innovation Registration
Date and time of event: 13:30, 30 April 2025 to 16:00 1 May 2025 Title: BBSRC Sparking Innovation Conference 2025 Location: The Leeds Met Hotel, 5 King St, Leeds, LS1 2HQ Summary: Please note we have reached capacity for Sparking Innovation 2025. Whilst you are...
Closed 30 March 2025
-
Future emails from the MRC Centre for Research Policy
Thank you for your interest in receiving future emails from the MRC Centre for Research Policy . The MRC Centre for Research Policy will work with members of the research community and other stakeholders, to develop and implement MRC research policy that enables good, ethical, and...
Closed 28 March 2025
-
UK Quantum Hackathon 2025: End User Webinar
Details: Date: 27th March 2025 Time: 15:30 Duration: 1 Hour plus 30 mins for questions Platform: Online Please note that this webinar will be recorded so that it can be shared with those who cannot attend. To request a copy of the recording, please contact...
Closed 27 March 2025
We Asked, You Said, We Did
See what we've consulted on. See all outcomes
We asked
In January 2024, we asked for feedback on the Medical Research Council’s (MRC's) draft public partnerships strategy. The strategy was drafted following a process of co-development and sets out MRC’s ambition and priorities for effective collaboration and genuine partnerships between the research community and wider society.
You said
We received 354 responses to the consultation. These responses came from a variety of individuals, groups, and organisations from the research community, the voluntary sector and wider society. The consultation responses were overwhelmingly positive. 87% agreed with the strategy overall, and 81% said that the strategy was written in clear language.
Respondents welcomed specific aspects of the strategy, including its inclusiveness, the focus on non-clinical research and the ambition to build long-term sustainable partnerships between the research community and wider society. Respondents highlighted specific initiatives which they considered vital to the success of the strategy such as, having a clear payment policy, appointing a new MRC programme director for public partnerships, and setting up a public advisory group at MRC.
Respondents recommended that MRC publish the new strategy in a variety of formats, alongside clear delivery (action) and evaluation plans.
We did
We used findings from the consultation to inform the final MRC public partnerships strategy. Key changes included:
- Clearly stating that this strategy is an initial three-year commitment to our long-term ambition
- Clarifying that the strategy has been co-developed
- Specifically mentioning the involvement of international researchers, public partners, and public involvement and engagement professionals
- Making clear that the consultation informed the final strategy
- Emphasising that this strategy is intended to be inclusive, and will be aligned with MRC’s Embedding Diversity in Research Design policy
- Acknowledging the importance of sharing power
- Making clear that we will implement our new payment policy for public partners, and that other rewards and recognition are additional to payment
- Emphasising that we will support public partners to take on leadership roles and responsibilities, such as chairing groups or co-leading projects
- Committing to publish our action and evaluation plans
The consultation findings have been summarised in an infographic and are detailed in full in our consultation report.
Next steps:
The final MRC public partnerships strategy will be published on the MRC website in summer 2024.
We asked
For opinions on the definition and scope of a categorisatino of UKRI funding as either 'Investigator-led' or 'Directed'.
You said
Only 8 responses were received, and there was no clear consensus on many questions. Most respondents were from universities.
We did
In the absence of opinion to the contrary we will continue to develop and apply the indicator to all UKRI funding. It will be applied as a binary indicator.
We asked
In April 2022, we asked for feedback on the new MRC expectations on the inclusion of sex in experimental design of studies involving animals, tissues, and cells. We also asked what MRC could do to aid researchers in implementing these requirements.
You said
We received 91 responses from researchers and research staff, with many constructive and detailed suggestions. We also received a written submission from the Academy of Medical Science, on behalf of their fellows.
We were pleased that many were already using both sexes in their experiments or were ready to begin doing so (32% and 5% of respondents, respectively). We recognise that many (57%), even though they were very often supportive in principle, felt barriers existed to implementing this in their research.
One of the most commonly mentioned concerns was a likely increase in grant costs. Respondents sought clarity from MRC as to how this would be handled. Ensuring animal welfare standards and the logistics of single housing male animals were also mentioned as barriers.
Roughly a third of respondents had questions about the changes, particularly around:
- When the new expectation would begin to apply and how compliance would be ensured
- How and when MRC would grant exceptions for single sex studies
- How MRC would handle grants where costs were significantly increased due to using both sexes of animal
The support from MRC that was identified as being most helpful was:
- Advice from MRC Head Office about applications
- Training in statistical design and analysis
- Written guidance
- Case studies or worked examples
We did
As a result of this feedback, we have been working to make more information available about the upcoming change and to ensure the research community receives the necessary support. We have:
- Updated our Guidance for Applicants with details about how to comply with these new expectations
- Made it clear that there is no retrospective application of this requirement for grants that have already been awarded
- Clarified that the requirement of including both sexes does not mean ‘balancing’ or using equal numbers of both sexes, as for many experiments this would result in unnecessary use of animals, but including both sexes as appropriate for the experimental design
- Made the cases where MRC will consider single sex studies clearer both on our website and in our Guidance for Applicants
- Planned a webinar for applicants together with NC3Rs to be held on 21 July 2022, in which animal handling and statistical design will be discussed, and applicants can ask questions
- Made it clearer on our website that there is no cap on MRC awards, and researchers should submit grant costings based on the cost of performing the work, and justified by the importance and potential of the work
In the coming months, we will:
- Update our guidance to Peer Reviewers to ensure proposals submitted to the deadlines starting from September 2022 are reviewed in accordance with the new requirements
- Develop case studies to show the level of information that would be required in applications, including examples of where single sex studies would be appropriate
- Ensure that MRC Programme Managers are available to support applicants that have further questions
- Look into what other support we can provide