FRAME has a long history of working with universities across the UK and abroad, however it has always had a special relationship with the University of Nottingham. Today that relationship is stronger than ever.

In 1981, then Chairman of FRAME Michael Balls, moved the charity’s headquarters from London to Nottingham. A large endowment allowed the creation of the FRAME laboratory in 1991. To date, FRAME has donated nearly £7M to support the work of the lab, the first of its kind focusing solely on developing alternatives to the use of animals. The lab continues to be a beacon of best practice and as we congratulate each cohort of graduating PhD students, we are proud to know we are actively growing the pool of researchers with the skills required to do vital research without the use of animals.

Subsequently, FRAME also arranged for the archive of William Russell, co-author of the seminal book on the 3Rs, and therefore a key primary historical source on the changing debate about the use of animals in science, to be lodged at the University of Nottingham’s library.

More recently in 2019 FRAME partnered with Nottingham’s Centre for Applied Bioethics to deliver and develop the longstanding Training School in Experimental Design. As a result of the success of this ongoing collaboration, and following discussions with the University’s senior managers, we are delighted to announce the expansion of this partnership. The new agreement we have put in place will allow us to collaborate more easily on projects, provide access to the University’s interdisciplinary and international expertise, and support and provide opportunities for students across a range of disciplines in a very tangible way. Initially, the new partnership will focus on the development of additional training materials for doctoral students on ethics, experimental design and searching for alternatives, with further projects under development.

Celean Camp and Amy Beale visited the University’s campus at Sutton Bonington, home of the Centre for Applied Bioethics, this week, to meet with Dr Michelle Hudson-Shore and Professor Kate Millar. Celean says “The thing that excites me about our relationship with Nottingham and the Centre for Applied Bioethics is the way in which it provides the ability to discuss and take action on projects relating to ethics, policy, public attitudes and behaviour change. We know that the availability of scientifically robust alternatives to animals is a necessary prerequisite for ending their use, but it is not on its own sufficient. That is to say, sometimes alternative approaches exist, and they still aren’t used. Why that is and what it means for our work is what we must wrestle with to create real change. Therefore, engagement with the social sciences and humanities is important to ensure that advances made in the biological sciences, can have maximum impact. We need to ensure that students and early career researchers have access to quality training and support that empowers them to make the best ethical and scientific decisions in all areas of their research, particularly where these decisions impact the use, or not, of animals.”

“This is a fantastic synergy which allows FRAME to benefit from direct access to experts at a world-class, research-intensive University, and allows Nottingham to capitalise on the wealth of expertise it has on research ethics and the use of animals in science, while also demonstrating to students and stakeholders its serious institutional commitment to the 3Rs.”