RSC joins other UK science leaders in a warning to EPSRC

The RSC today echoed the main message of a joint letter sent by the UK's leading science bodies to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

The letter comes in the wake of controversy over planned cuts by the EPSRC in the field of synthetic organic chemistry.

RSC President, Professor David Phillips, said today: "The RSC believes strongly that the EPSRC needs to pause a while and listen to the community and it is our hope that the council takes that route.

"Such a period of reflection would allow for feedback and new evidence from the community to be absorbed. Above all, the decision about reduction in spend should be taken after wide consultation and buy-in from the community.

"The RSC through its own roadmap, Chemistry for Tomorrow's World, is committed to supporting excellent research and innovation across the country."

"Chemistry research alone enables UK companies to create more than 20 per cent of our GDP; any funding actions that threatens this vast contribution must be considered, long and hard, in order to avoid inflicting irreparable damage in the short and long term."

On Monday 26 September the RSC will attend a gathering of academic and learned organisations who have been invited to a "town hall"  meeting arranged by the EPSRC to address some of the issues thrown up by the lack of consultation on their "Shaping Capability" report which ignited debate in the scientific community.

Downloadable Files

Joint letter to EPSRC