Where our funding comes from

We are an independent, international centre of excellence in plant science, genetics and microbiology, and a registered UK charity.
The majority of our funding is won in open competition from funding agencies worldwide, with more than 50% coming from UK government sources.
The John Innes Centre is a UKRI-BBSRC strategically supported institute. A large proportion of our funding comes from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), with strategic funding for four Institute Strategic Programs (ISPs) from the BBSRC and competitively won responsive mode grants from the BBSRC and NERC.
The ISPs directly address strategic objectives in food security, human health and industrial biotechnology. Our four programmes are:
- Advancing Plant Health (APH) – in partnership with The Sainsbury Laboratory
- Building Robustness in Crops (BRiC)
- Delivering Sustainable Wheat (DSW) (a cross-institute strategic programme)
- Harnessing Biosynthesis for Sustainable Food and Health (HBio)
We also hold grants from European Research Council and charitable sources.
As a registered charity we gratefully receive donations to support scientific research and education.
John Innes Foundation
The John Innes Foundation is an independent charity formed in 1910 following a bequest from John Innes, a landowner in the City of London.
John Innes Foundation trustees play an active part in the management of the John Innes Centre and have the right to appoint members of our Governing Council.
The trustees also provide direct support for the John Innes Centre’s research and training, principally through sponsorship of several graduate studentships each year, and by their support for educational programmes and the infrastructure of the site.
The trustees also support the study of the history of genetics and plant science; and the Foundation owns a very significant collection of archive material, the History of Genetics Library, and the ‘Special Collection’ of rare botanical books. Several of the images across this website are provided by the John Innes Foundation, via these historical collections.