The Association of Medical Research Charities welcomes this opportunity to make a few very general points to the Inquiry.

  AMRC considers that with regard to Government Expenditure on Research and Development there is a need for Government and government departments to:

—  acknowledge that where Government is not the only or principal funder of areas or types of research it must work in consultation with other funders for the good of UK science;

—  to maintain the focus of the Forward Look on the role of research and development in improving quality of life as well as in wealth creation;

—  to work constructively, perhaps through specific fora with other funders and users of research, to tackle shared concerns (eg, careers and manpower, research capacity and public confidence in science);

—  to improve the quality of published data on UK-wide research and development. Current reports are poor with regard to information on non-government research funding, and thus tend to minimise the impact of not-for-profit funders. Improved quality of information on UK-wide research activity would provide a better context for decision-making;

—  to maintain a UK-wide perspective on research and development.

26 November 1999