Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
BBSRC logo
Abbreviation	BBSRC
Formation	1994
Legal status	Government agency
Purpose/focus	Funding of UK biological and biotechnological science research
Location	North Star Avenue, Swindon, UK
Region served	UK
Chief Executive	Professor Douglas Kell
Main organ	BBSRC Council
Parent organization	BIS
Affiliations	RCUK, AHRC, BNSC, EPSRC, ESRC, MRC, NERC, STFC, TSB
Budget	c. £420M
Website	BBSRC

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is a UK Research Council and non-departmental public body supporting several scientific research institutes and university research departments in the UK.

Purpose

Receiving its funding through the science budget of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), BBSRC's mission is to promote and support high-quality basic, strategic and applied research and related postgraduate training relating to the understanding and exploitation of biological systems.

Structure

BBSRC's head office is at Polaris House in Swindon - the same building as four of the other Research Councils, EPSRC, ESRC, NERC, and STFC, as well as RCUK and BNSC. Its annual budget is £450M in financial year 2009/2010. BBSRC was created in 1994, replacing the earlier Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) and taking over the biological science activities of the former Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC). BBSRC also manages the joint Research Councils' Office in Brussels - the UK Research Office (UKRO).

Governance and management

BBSRC is managed by the BBSRC Council consisting of a chair (from 1 July 2009, Professor Sir Tom Blundell), a chief executive (Professor Douglas Kell) and from ten to eighteen representatives from UK universities, government and industry. The Council approves policies, strategy, budgets and major funding.

A Strategy Advisory Board provides expert advice which BBSRC Council draws upon in making decisions. The purpose of the Strategy Advisory Board is to advise on:

• the development and implementation of the Council's strategic plans
• the competitiveness, relevance, economic impact, and societal considerations of the science and innovation activities funded by BBSRC
• opportunities for partnership with national and international organisations

Boards, panels and committees

In addition to the Council and Strategy Advisory Board, BBSRC has a series of other internal bodies for specific purposes.

• Appointments Board
• Audit Board
• Institute Board
• Remuneration Board
• Strategy Panels - seven Panels advise and report to Strategy Advisory Board
• Research Committees - four Committees award research grants in specific science areas

Institutes of BBSRC

The Council has six research institutes in the UK, and a number of centres (BBSRC: Institutes and centres).

• Babraham Institute (BI - Cambridge)
• Institute for Animal Health (IAH - Compton and Pirbright)
• Institute of Food Research (IFR - Norwich))
• John Innes Centre (JIC - Norwich)
• Rothamsted Research (Harpenden)
• The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC - Norwich)

Many other research centres have been closed down or have merged with local universities. Previous BBSRC sponsored institutes include the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER - Aberystwyth), Roslin (RI - Edinburgh), Letcombe Laboratory, Long Ashton Research Station (LARS - Bristol), the Plant Breeding Institute (PBI - Cambridge), and the Weed Research Organisation (WRO - Oxford). Silsoe Research Institute (SRI - Bedfordshire) was closed in 2006. In November 2009 the Senate of Warwick university voted to close Warwick HRI, formerly Horticulture Research International, formerly the National Vegetable Research Station.

External links

• Babraham Institute
• BBSRC website
• Bioscience IT Services
• Institute for Animal Health
• Institute of Food Research
• Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research
• John Innes Centre
• Research Councils UK
• Roslin
• Rothamsted Research
• Silsoe Research Institute
• The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC)
• UK Research Office (UKRO)

Video clips

• BBSRC YouTube channel