"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 said the government had told it to "focus and do fewer things better", which "will result in negative outcomes for some"."
"Funding for what UKRI describes as "curiosity driven" research, which Chapman said the UK is "really good at", is to remain at the same level - effectively a decrease in real terms as time goes on. 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 don't make choices everybody loses out," Chapman said."
UKRI has been instructed by the government to focus and do fewer things better, requiring hard funding choices that will leave some projects without support. The reorganisation will be fully implemented by April 2027. Overall research funding is expected to increase with greater emphasis on commercialisation. Funding for curiosity-driven research will be held at the same nominal level, effectively decreasing in real terms over time. The organisation comprises eight research councils including the Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC), which funds UK membership of CERN and the European Space Agency and supports major telescopes. The STFC must find £162m in savings. Project selection criteria have not been published.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]