About the John Innes Foundation

History of the Foundation

John Innes Foundation (JIF) is an independent charity (registered Charity No. 1111527) and a company limited by guarantee (registered no. 5574485). It was formed in 1910 following a bequest from John Innes, a landowner in the City of London.

William Bateson (1861 –1926), 1^st Director of the JIHI. Coined the word ‘genetics’ to cover the study of heredity and variation. He established the actual lines of research within JIHI

In 1910 the trustees of the Foundation founded the John Innes Horticultural Institution (JIHI) at Merton, London, John Innes’s home. In 1945, finding those premises too restrictive, the Institution purchased an estate at Bayfordbury, Hertfordshire, and then, in 1967 moved to its present site in Colney, Norfolk. Today the Foundation maintains its links to Merton as the owner of a youth centre in the borough and to Rutlish School, which occupies the Merton site.

During the 1930’s scientists at the Institution developed a series of composting formulae for which the John Innes name is perhaps best known. In wide use by commercial manufacturers (see www.johninnes.info) to this day, these are still known as ‘John Innes’ composts. See www.johninnescompost.org/

In April 1994 the John Innes Institute, Cambridge Laboratory and Nitrogen Fixation Laboratory were merged to form the John Innes Centre (JIC). As part of the arrangements for the merger the Trustees of the John Innes Foundation gifted the assets of the John Innes Institute to JIC and leased the Norwich site to JIC for 50 years at an annual rental of one tree.

Emphasising their commitment to the development of the John Innes site as a centre of excellence, among recent projects underwritten and part-funded by the Foundation is the John Innes Conference Centre.

The JIF also owns the land and buildings at Newfound Farm, Colney and Church Farm, Bawburgh, Norfolk. The trustees play an active part in the management of JIC research and have the right to appoint three members of the Governing Council. They also provide direct support for JIC'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.

John Innes Studentships

JIF - Funded Rotation PhD student Alex Graf comments “the rotation PhD programme really changed my scientific interests – before I saw myself more as a developmental biologist or plant pathologist but with my project in Alison Smith’s lab I entered the world of starch metabolism. Alison gave me almost complete freedom in designing my project. I was very interested in how Arabidopsis thaliana is able to degrade its starch in a linear way over the night period; the project links ‘two worlds’ – the circadian clock and metabolism.”

The trustees policy is that the bulk of the Foundation’s income not committed to site maintenance should be devoted to the provision of studentships. The JIF makes an annual grant each year to the graduate school of the JIC and this is used to fund a number of Ph.D. studentships. The majority of these positions are currently allocated to the Rotation Ph.D. programme which is now in its fifth year and is proving to be a great success with both students and supervisors. During their first year, each rotation student gains experience of research in three different laboratories in different departments before selecting a research topic and a supervisor for their thesis work. The PhD programme is completed within a 4-year time-frame.

All applications for Ph.D. studentships at JIC should be made through the Graduate Studies Office. Other activities supported by the JIF grant include the JIC Student Voice Committee (SVC) which organises a wide range of activities for students including an annual Student Science Meeting and the invitation of student seminar speakers. JIF also supports the Nuffield scholarship programme whereby sixth-form students from local schools each spend four weeks working in the laboratory with a JIC scientist.

Grants & Charitable Donations

While the bulk of the Foundation’s income is committed to ongoing projects, the trustees are prepared to consider making small ad hoc grants. They are more likely to favour applications from students and staff at JIC or to others with projects the trustees consider are likely to further the understanding and promotion of plant science. They are very unlikely to consider awards in excess of £2,500.

Grant applications should be made, in the first instance, to the Clerk to the Trustees.

John Innes Foundation Emeritus Fellows

In 1997 JIC’s Centre Management Board proposed to instigate the John Innes Foundation Emeritus Fellows. The aim of the scheme was to facilitate the extension of senior staff’s research activity beyond their retirement date. To enable this, the Emeritus Fellows were to be provided with office and bench space allowing them to maintain a research presence at JIC acting as ‘honorary’ Project Leaders within a science department. The scheme was to be open to JIC scientists at Band 3 or higher, with proposals made by the Head of the ‘host’ Department and appraised and approved on an annual basis by the Centre Management Board. This scheme was endorsed by the John Innes Foundation and put into place in that year.

The scheme has been retained since that time with Fellows playing an active part in the life of their ‘host’ Department and the Centre. Five Fellows have operated at the Centre during this time.

JIC Site Amenities

The foundation makes a contribution to a variety of on-site amenities including sport & environment.