Norwich Research Park

Norwich Research Park

Official logo
Established	1992
Budget	£100M annual research spend by partners
Field of research	Plants, Environment, Food and Health, Food Innovation, Microbes in the Food Chain
President	David Parfrey
Address	Norwich Research Park
Location	Norwich, Norfolk, England 52°37′26″N1°13′26″E / 52.623894°N 1.223946°E / 52.623894; 1.223946
ZIP code	NR4 7UG
Website	norwichresearchpark.com

Norwich Research Park (NRP) is a business community located to the southwest of Norwich in East Anglia close to the A11 and the A47 roads. Set in a 568-acre (230-hectare) area of parkland, it is one of five Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded Research and Innovation Campuses. It is the only site with three BBSRC funded research institutes and is considered as having one of Europe's largest concentrations of researchers in the fields of agriculture, genomics, health and the environment. ^[1]

The focus of the community is on creating and supporting new companies and jobs based on bioscience. ^[2] It is also a partnership between the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and four independent world-renowned research institutes (John Innes Centre, Quadram Institute, Earlham Institute, and The Sainsbury Laboratory) linked to the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. There are over forty businesses located on the site over 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) of office and lab space with over 12,000 people, including 3,000 researchers and clinicians with an annual research spend of over £164 million. ^[3]

History and facilities

The research park was officially launched in 1992 when it comprised the schools of Biological and Chemical Sciences at the University of East Anglia, the John Innes Centre, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) Food Science Laboratory and the British Sugar Technical Centre. ^[4] The MAFF Laboratory moved to York in 1992. The British Sugar Technical Centre closed its laboratories in Norwich in 2001. ^[5] Facilities located on the site include:

• The John Innes Centre (JIC), an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. ^{[6] [7]} In 2017, the John Innes Centre was awarded a gold Athena SWAN Charter award for equality in the workplace. ^[8]
• The University of East Anglia (UEA), founded in 1963, a public research university and one of the nation's most-cited research institutions worldwide. ^[9] The university ranks in the Top 1% worldwide according to the Times Higher Education world rankings, ^[10] and within the world Top 100 for research excellence in the Leiden Ranking, with UEA "often out-performing Russell Group universities". ^[11]
• The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL), a research institute that carries out fundamental biological research and technology development on aspects of plant disease, plant disease resistance and microbial symbiosis in plants. It was founded in 1988. ^[12]
• The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), founded in 2001, a large National Health Service academic teaching hospital and is a partner with the University of East Anglia in the delivery of courses. It is one of the largest hospitals in the United Kingdom in terms of in-patient capacity. ^[13]
• The Earlham Institute (EI), founded in 2009, a life science research institute focused on exploring living systems by applying computational science and biotechnology to answer ambitious biological questions and generate enabling resources. ^[14]
• The Quadram Institute, which opened in 2018, a centre for food and health research. The institute is a partnership between Quadram Institute Bioscience, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the University of East Anglia and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). ^{[15] [16]}

References

1. "University of East Anglia (UEA)". www.timeshighereducation.com. 11 December 2023.
2. "NORWICH RESEARCH PARK - OVERVIEW" (PDF). East of England.
3. "Our Community - Norwich Research Park". Norwich Research Park.
4. "A Short History of Food Research"
5. Michael Sanderson The History of the University of East Anglia, Norwich 2002. p102
6. "The John Innes Institute". Nature. 202 (4930): 337–338. 1964. Bibcode:1964Natur.202U.337.. doi: 10.1038/202337e0 .
7. Humphries, E. C. (1964). "The John Innes Institute". Nature. 204 (4955): 232. Bibcode:1964Natur.204..232H. doi: 10.1038/204232a0 .
8. "The Gold Standard: John Innes Centre receives Athena SWAN Gold award". John Innes Centre. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
9. "Succcess in Times Higher Education rankings sees UEA rise to five-year high". Norwich Research Park.
10. "New rankings place UEA in world top 150". UEA. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
11. "League Table & Uni Guide". UEA. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
12. Sainsbury, David. "David Sainsbury". www.davidsainsbury.org.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
13. "Press Release Archive - UEA". comm.uea.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 19 September 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
14. "Earlham Institute – Decoding living systems for a better world". www.bbsrc.ac.uk. BBSRC. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
15. Faulkner, Doug (3 March 2017). "Go with your gut – how biology is big business". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
16. Scott, Geraldine (5 February 2018). "Countdown is on to opening of £81m research and health hub". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 1 July 2020.