The EPSRC IT and Computer Science Programme

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) exists to support promising new lines of research, mainly in universities, which cannot be justified through market demand, but which could be of vital importance in laying the fundamental framework for future developments in a subject. The importance of information technology (IT) is recognised by the resources provided. The IT and Computer Science Programme has a budget of #53.3 million for new research projects in 2000/01. The Programme tries to do the following things: to maintain excellence in the research base and a depth of expertise in academe so as to be able to take advantage of new opportunities wherever they arise; to focus on long-term research potentially of relevance to the economy, taking account of the needs of the users of research; to encourage inter- and multidisciplinarity in research; to ensure that the research outcomes are appropriately disseminated; and to help to provide a balanced portfolio of training appropriate to the needs of employers throughout the economy. The Programme is organised into six sectors of activity: physical layer technology, computational theory, software technologies, people and interactivity, systems level technologies and applications.