No press, please: UK launch of FP7

Science|Business would like to bring you news of the UK launch of Framework Programme 7 on Wednesday 7 February,  but we can’t because the press was not invited to the event. Instead here is the UK Department of Trade and Industry’s media release.

New R&D funding opportunities for British Science

The UK Government has organised a major event to mark the start of the EU's Seventh R&D Framework Programme (FP7).

The aim is to raise awareness of the programme, highlight potential opportunities for UK organisations and provide information and advice.

The event, which is being held today (6 February), entitled "Global challenges and global opportunities", will be attended by around 500 people from the UK's research community representing academia, research organisations, industry (including SMEs) and central and regional government.

There will be keynote speeches from, Malcolm Wicks Minister for Science and Innovation, and Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Research, as well as a presentation from the Russian Science and Education Minister, Andrey Fursenko.

Science and Innovation Minister Malcolm Wicks said, "The UK is good at science. We have an envied record in research and have long been a key player in the Framework Programme. We need to maintain our strong position in the face of increasing international competition for the best researchers and research investments.

"UK organisations have traditionally done well in the programme and secured significant levels of funding. In the previous sixth programme, FP6, the UK has so far received around 14.5 per cent of the overall funding, second only to Germany.

"The launch of the Seventh Framework Programme offers unprecedented opportunities, and I am confident that UK researchers will continue to be a major driving force "

The event also sees the official launch of the UK's FP7UK website (www.fp7uk.dti.gov.uk) which provides a wide range of information on all aspects of FP7.

The web site will be complemented by a central telephone helpline (0870 600 6080) for first time callers and generic enquiries and a network of National Contact Points that can provide advice on specific elements of the programme.