UK SBS OJEU-CR150057BIS International Comparative Performance of the UK Research Base (2015-16)

Context and Purpose. In recent years, the Department for Business,Innovation and Skills (BIS) has stressed theimportance of research performance, with anemphasis on ensuring that investment in science and research is focussed on excellence.

The Science and Innovation Strategy, published jointly by BIS and HM Treasury in December 2014, continued these themes, noting that £5.9 billion was being committed for capital to support research excellence from 2016 to 2021, with around half of this being allocated towards meeting grand challenges. Some of this was already committed (e.g. new Polar Research Ship, Square Kilometre Array, Alan Turing Institute).

Following the science capital consultation exercise in 2014, a furtherwave of investment was announced, including an advanced materials centre in Manchester, a high performance computer collaboration with IBM at Hartree and a lead role for the UK in the next European Rover mission to Mars. The Strategy also highlighted: expansion of the Catapult centres network; continued importance of the Research Councils (currently subject to a review being led by Sir Paul Nurse, to build on their foundations, due to report in Sumer 2015); continued promotion of the Newton Fund; and the importance of place (where people and organisations benefit from mutual proximity).

One of the ways BIS (and its predecessor departments) have assessed the overall impact of its science and research investments and the performance of the UK research base, has been via regular reports on the international competitiveness of the UK research base. Initially produced annually, in mid-2010 the Minister for Universities and Science agreed to move this report onto a biennial basis on the understanding that the evidence base did not differ significantly year to year.

The last such report was produced in 2013 and BIS now wishes to up-date the analysis. Please refer to the RFP document for the full specification.

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