Among last week’s meetings was one to discuss how we might best take forward our implementation of the Athena Swan arrangements, and in particular the development of requirements for our fundees to have done so (by applying for and achieving the necessary charter awards), probably in the manner set down by the NIHR for bids to become Biomedical Research Centres.

I managed to attend the dinner discussion of the first meeting of our new Exploiting New Ways of Working Panel, and also had a first meeting since his appointment with Tim Benton, the new Global Food Security Champion.
Continue reading: Athena Swan, Exploiting New Ways of Working, East Malling, and The Two Cultures

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Taiwanese National Science Council and BBSRC last November, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to visit Taiwan last week, necessarily for a short but very intense, useful and enjoyable programme.

The first port of call was the College of Life Sciences of the National Taiwan University in Taipei where I was able to speak with a good number of the Faculty and also gave a talk about BBSRC’s funding models, as well as an academic seminar to a full (and evidently well-informed) house on the cellular uptake of pharmaceutical drugs.
Continue reading: A visit to Taiwan

Many of last week’s meetings involved some of the Institutes that receive strategic funding from BBSRC. One involved a catch-up meeting with Prof John Fazakerley, the (relatively) new Director of the Institute for Animal Health, while another involved finalising elements of the changes in governance at the John Innes Centre. The most detailed was the first of the eight Institute Assessment Panels that will be meeting between now and Christmas, leading to funding decisions by BBSRC Council next March. This was the (very high powered) Institute Assessment Panel for Rothamsted Research. I thank them most warmly for their detailed and insightful comments and analyses.
Continue reading: Institutes, governance and Science and Technology in Society

Last week included lengthy meetings assessing the proposals for quinquennial funding from the Institutes to whom we give strategic support. These proposals fell into two categories, viz National Capability Grants and Institute Strategic Programme Grants, with separate Panels for each. I was very pleased with the care, thoroughness and expertise displayed by the Panels as they reviewed some very complex and wide-ranging materials. Their deliberations will feed into a series of Institute Assessment Panels carried out on site throughout the autumn, for final decisions to be taken by Council early next year.
Continue reading: Strategies, Fellows, technology and food

I had expected to start last week by going to the Royal Society to attend the speech of, and discussion with, EU Commissioner for Research Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, who we had met previously in the context of the KBBE, but a ‘perfect storm’ of train problems (multiple floods, vandals and signalling) conspired against me. However, BBSRC was well represented, and there was due recognition of the Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change that we are leading with INRA.

We had a very useful meeting of Council, that as usual covered a fair bit of ground, and in particular endorsed a more detailed version of our Delivery Plan.

I was also pleased to attend the launch of Alzheimer’s Research UK at the Palace of Westminster.
Continue reading: Announcements, speeches and animal health