| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1915 |
| Dissolved | 1965 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | British Government |
| Minister responsible |
|
The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was a department of the British Government responsible for the organisation, development, and encouragement of scientific and industrial research. At the outbreak of the First World War "Britain found ... it was dangerously dependent on enemy industries".[1] At the request of the Board of Trade, the Board of Education prepared a White Paper under the chairmanship of Sir William McCormick.[2] The DSIR was set up to fill the roles that the White Paper specified: "to finance worthy research proposals, to award research fellowships and studentships [in universities], and to encourage the development of research associations in private industry and research facilities in university science departments. [It] rapidly assumed a key role in coordinating government aid to university research.[3] It maintained these roles until 1965. The annual budget during its first year, 1915, was £1,000,000.
- ^ Berdahl, Robert O. (1977) [1959]. British Universities and the State. Arno Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-405-10029-9.
- ^ "Sir William McCormick, G.B.E., F.R.S. Obituary". Nature. 125 (3154): 569–571. 12 April 1930. Bibcode:1930Natur.125..569R. doi:10.1038/125569a0.
- ^ Heath, H.F.; Heatherington, A.L. (1946). "Industrial Research and Development in the United Kingdom". Nature. 158 (4010): 250–251. Bibcode:1946Natur.158..324P. doi:10.1038/158324a0. S2CID 4063624.