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Scientists comment on UKRI budget allocations through to 2029/2030.
Professor Andrew Morris CBE PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said:
“Medical sciences deliver extraordinary value for the UK’s health and economy. While we’re encouraged by the overall increase in research and innovation funding, we’re keen to understand how allocations are distributed across research areas to ensure investment in medical sciences is commensurate with its impact.
“The Government’s commitment to funding support for talent, curiosity-driven discovery research, technology and infrastructure, provides the foundations for healthcare breakthroughs and our international competitiveness. We look forward to working with UKRI to ensure this investment helps health innovations reach everyone and supports the research priorities that will have the greatest impact on patients and communities.”
Dr Stuart Wainwright, Chief Executive, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), said:
“The NRO Group welcomes UKRI’s record £38.6 billion plan to advance knowledge, improve lives, and drive UK growth. We share UKRI’s ambition to focus on world-leading areas that deliver the greatest benefit to society and the economy. NROs deliver across all three R&D buckets and bring leverage, talent, and convening power to maximise impact. Like the Secretary of State, we believe science and innovation are key to growth. We particularly value the commitment to skills and infrastructure, which underpin long-term success. NRO stands ready to work with UKRI and government to turn this ambition into real outcomes for the UK.”
Professor Paul Howarth CBE, President-elect of the Institute of Physics, said:
“We welcome the ambition for science to drive growth and solve our urgent national priorities. Physics is an engine of growth and innovation, powering sectors and technologies like defence, the green economy, AI and quantum, and our physics community stands ready to deliver on this phenomenal potential.
“But we are yet to hear what these funding priorities will mean on the ground for vital research and crucial scientific infrastructure, and we are keen to see the detail which sits behind today’s announcement.
“While difficult choices may have to be made in the face of tough public finances, we must avoid any temptation to make hasty cuts to areas like early-stage research which may not drive instant reward but will lead to long-term growth – and potentially to Britain’s next big breakthrough.
“We must also continue to invest in the UK’s world-leading scientific facilities and infrastructure which are the backbone that underpins UK R&D, giving us our scientific capability across physics, chemistry, biology, engineering and more. Investment in maintaining these strategic national assets is an investment in growth and national security.
“Ultimately, we must set out a 10-year, strategic plan for the physical sciences to complement the 10-year Industrial Strategy, and stabilise our university physics departments where much of this powerful research takes place. Doing so will unlock the power of physics research and innovation to solve our greatest challenges.”
Dr Tim Bradshaw, Chief Executive of the Russell Group, said:
“Against a tight fiscal backdrop, increased investment in research and innovation is a welcome vote of confidence in universities and the wider R&D sector. We know this investment produces impressive returns and helps generate growth, improve public services and produce the breakthroughs that put UK researchers at the top of their global fields.
“While the new approach to reporting on funding allocations by priority ‘bucket’ makes it difficult to compare with previous allocations, the prominence given to curiosity-driven research is important. We’ve long made the case that curiosity-driven research forms the bedrock of our R&D system, so it’s positive to see recognition of this within UKRI budgets across the allocation period. This means universities can continue to build the research capacity that underpins national priorities”
Dr Alicia Greated, Executive Director, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), said:
“UKRI have been proactively engaging the sector over the last few weeks with their plans to reorganise their funding structure. This engagement is to be commended. However, whilst it is good to have allocations for UKRI’s budget through to 2029/30, with the information provided it is not possible to compare these allocations with previous years.
“DSIT and UKRI could have done more to allow past comparisons. Without this transparency, it is difficult to fully understand what the allocations mean for the future of UK R&D, and the sector is left in the dark about how funding is changing.”
Declared interests
The nature of this story means everyone quoted above could be perceived to have a stake in it. As such, our policy is not to ask for interests to be declared – instead, they are implicit in each person’s affiliation.