G8 research bodies sign historic partnership agreement

Research organisations from across the G8 have joined forces to find solutions to some of the biggest global problems.

Research funding organisations from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the UK and the USA have signed an agreement which will bring together the best researchers in the world to address major global challenges including climate change, energy, water resources, the environment and natural disasters.

It is the first time G8 research organisations have established a multilateral funding initiative.

Research Councils UK (RCUK) says the initiative will add value to the worldwide research base and help inform decisions about how to tackle the impact of global problems on the global economy and society. The Multilateral Research Funding Programme will also give researchers an unprecedented opportunity to collaborate with one another across disciplines.

The programme is scheduled to run for five years and three calls for research proposals will be made during that time. Research topics will be defined separately for each call. 

The initiative begins with a first call on Exascale Computing which is supported by €10 million over a three year period and is expected to fund between eight and ten collaborations.

Researchers are being invited to submit initial proposals by 7 May 2010.