The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a UK-wide partnership between cancer research funders, which promotes collaboration in the field. Our role is to promote co-operation in cancer research for the benefit of patients, the public and the scientific community. We focus on challenging areas of research where partners can achieve greater progress by working together. What we do: • We run the annual NCRI Cancer Conference, which is the leading meeting in the UK for showcasing cancer research. It covers a spectrum of basic, clinical, translational and patient-focused research, and attracts around 2000 delegates. • We identify areas of need in UK cancer research and set up collaborative initiatives to help address them. • We collect information every year on how much is being spent on cancer research in the UK by NCRI partners, to inform funding strategies and identify areas of need and opportunity. What we don’t do: • We don’t fund research – each of our partners does this directly through a variety of funding streams. • We don’t lobby – we work mainly by promoting coordination, collaboration and communication.