The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) Resistance Surveillance Project was initiated in light of the need for UK-wide surveillance of antibacterial resistance in key clinical pathogens. The Project comprises two defined-protocol programmes that cover a range of important pathogens and antibacterials related to community-acquired respiratory tract infection and bloodstream infection, respectively. The Respiratory Programme has reported quantitative susceptibility data for Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis collected from across the UK and Ireland since 1999. The Bacteraemia Programme has reported the susceptibility of a wide range of Gram-positive and -negative organisms since 2001. The sustainability of the Programmes relies on a unique collaborative funding model: sponsorship is provided by a number of pharmaceutical companies in return for the inclusion of their investigational or marketed agents in the study alongside a core panel of established antibacterials. The sponsors have changed over time according to their interest in participating. Results for marketed agents are communicated in a timely manner through the BSAC web site and by presentation and publication, and for investigational agents with the agreement of their sponsors. The Project satisfies the requirement for sustainable defined-protocol high-quality resistance surveillance across the UK and Ireland.