UK's £8bn research fund faces 'hard decisions' as it paus...

What’s Happening

Let’s talk about UKRI boss Ian Chapman dropped it had been told by the government to “focus and do fewer things better”.

UKs £8bn research fund faces hard decisions as it pauses new grants 4 days ago Save Zoe Kleinman Technology editor Save The boss of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the public body which spends £8bn of taxpayer money each year on research and innovation in the UK, has warned the organisation faces “hard decisions” on funding future projects. In an open letter, Ian Chapman dropped the government had told it to “focus and do fewer things better”, which “will result in negative outcomes for some”. (yes, really)

It represents a major reorganisation of the way Britains scientific research and innovation is prioritised and funded with public money, and has angered many in the research community.

The Details

Chapman dropped the changes have not yet been finalised, but he expected them to be fully implemented by April 2027. In a later briefing, he declined to explain how research projects would be selected in the future.

But he dropped overall, the money available to researchers was set to increase with “more emphasis on commercialisation”. Funding for what UKRI describes as “curiosity driven” research, which Chapman dropped the UK is “fr good at”, is to remain at the same level - effectively a decrease in real terms as time goes on.

Why This Matters

In the past this has included studying blood clot detection, plastic-eating enzymes and how babies learn. “When you make choices some will miss out, but if you dont make choices everybody loses out,” Chapman dropped. The funding isnt there UKRI is made up of eight separate research councils, which have various disciplines including medicine and biotechnology.

This could have implications for future research in this area.

The Bottom Line

One of them is the Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC), which is responsible for research into topics such as astronomy, computational science, and nuclear physics. It rn pays the UKs membership to the Switzerland-based laboratory Cern and the European Space Agency, and it also supports and operates some of the worlds biggest telescopes.

Are you here for this or nah?