More data will be produced in the next five years than in the entire history of human kind, a digital deluge that marks the beginning of the Century of Information. Through a year‐long consultation with UK researchers, a coherent strategy has been developed, which will nurture Century‐of‐Information Research (CIR); it crystallises the ideas developed by the e‐Science Directors’ Forum Strategy Working Group. This paper is an abridged version of their latest report which can be found at:

which also records the consultation process and the affiliations of the authors. This document is derived from a paper presented at the Oxford e‐Research Conference 2008 and takes into account suggestions made in the ensuing panel discussion.