The Scottish Science Research Investment Fund combines funding from the UK Science Budget and the Scottish Executive. Scottish Universities will of course benefit from that additional investment in both science projects and infrastructure. This 90 million partnership, with 45 million from UK Government matched by 45 million from the Executive, while certainly a significant investment in science, is also an investment in Scotland's knowledge economy. The top universities that I visited in America last week knew of the great research we had locked up in our universities but they urged us to improve our ability to get those ideas out of labs and into our industries. We know from Scotland's history of innovation the vital role of science investment.
Universities are our 'investment bank' for tomorrow's economy.
The really innovative feature of the Scottish Science Research Investment Fund is that it allows universities a great deal of freedom to follow their own investment strategies. The total investment in research infrastructure will be well over 100 million once the 25 per cent share from universities is added. The 90million announced today combines these two elements.