UK Research and Innovation changes its investment approach
The UKRI Chief Executive addresses concerns about research funding in an open letter.
The UK Government has given 'clear direction...that we need to focus and do fewer things better' for the Spending Review period 2026-30, says UKRI Chief Executive Ian Chapman in an open letter.
He outlines that the overall budget for research and innovation is rising to nearly £10bln by 2030.
Investment will now focus across three 'buckets':
- Curiosity-driven research
- Strategic government and societal priorities
- Supporting innovative companies to start and scale
Chapman says, 'Where multiple councils have a significant interest in a field, like artificial intelligence, we will bring teams together and have one UKRI-wide targeted programme, instead of running multiple programmes from within several councils.'
He emphasises that 'support for curiosity-driven research is protected across the SR period, comprising around 50% of our investment, with the other half of our budget supporting applied research and innovative companies. This proportion is not a change, it is reflection of the position over the past years'.
The UKRI expects to fully transition to this new model by the start of the 2027/28 financial year. 'For our curiosity-driven research programmes, headroom in funding will increase, as existing commitments continue to wind down and you can expect to see new opportunities opening later this year,' Chapman notes.
Bucket two will be designed to deliver nearer-term outcomes and be largely aligned with the eight Industrial Strategy Sector Plans.
Chapman clarifies that 'this is not about choosing between disciplines. One of the best things about UKRI is that we support such a broad range of research and innovation. But it does involve making concerted choice of areas of focus within disciplines.
'Despite a record UKRI settlement for 2026 and 2030 and STFC’s core budget holding relatively flat from £835mln to £842mln over this period, a reset is needed as currently STFC’s costs will outpace the funding available and would eat into other parts of the UKRI budget,' Chapman adds.
