Russell Group response to launch of new international science partnership funding

15 December 2022

In response to the launch of the first phase of the UK’s new International Science Partnerships Fund with an initial £119m in support of UK researchers collaborating with scientists in Japan and around the world, Dr Tim Bradshaw, Chief Executive of the Russell Group, said:

"International collaboration and the breakthroughs that come from it are at the heart of discovery science, which is the key to solving shared global challenges, changing lives for the better, tackling climate change and revitalising our economies.

"Investment through the International Science Partnerships Fund to fuel more of these kinds of partnerships makes sense however you look it and will foster innovations that will help to make us all better off. The UK’s strength in health and neuroscience is something that should be harnessed so we welcome the new UK-Japan research collaboration and the vote of confidence it sends to our academics and researchers.

"It also underlines the importance of collaboration with our nearest neighbours, which is why the research and science community on both sides of the channel continues to make clear that full UK participation in Horizon Europe remains the best outcome, and we hope to see a breakthrough soon that will unlock the enormous benefits it would bring to the UK and EU."