Crack a Challenge

We are working with the pharmaceutical, chemical and consumer product industries to define new scientific or business related challenges for 2012 which if solved will lead to improvements in animal welfare or reduced reliance on animal research. The specific challenges are in areas where there is an urgent need for models and tools with improved predictivity and efficiency.

We will showcase these through CRACK IT Challenges, a research competition with financial support from the NC3Rs and in-kind contributions from individual companies. The emphasis of these Challenges is on delivering solutions that are themselves marketable or contribute to improving industry processes. This marks a departure for the NC3Rs from our traditional role of awarding grants to academia; encouraging applications with a greater emphasis on translation from both the academic and private sectors.

The six CRACK IT Challenges for 2011 are being run through the UK Technology Strategy Board’s Small Business Research Initiative scheme. The deadline for applications was 2 November 2011 and shortlisted applicants were invited to present to the Challenge panel. These panels were run in a 'Dragon's Den' format and took place in December 2011. Successful applicants were invited to enter into contract negotiation in December 2011 and awards will be announced in February 2012.

As well as the CRACK IT Challenges competition, scientists will be posing other challenges through the CRACK IT website which are not associated with financial support from the NC3Rs. If you think you have a solution for any of these you can submit your ideas online. Posers will select the best ideas and engage in a collaboration with the solution provider(s) to put the idea into practice.