UK Research and Innovation

We’re delighted to welcome Dr Anneke Lubben as UKRI’s new Chair of the Facilities Strategic Advisory Group (FSAG). The FSAG brings together representatives from across the UKRI family to discuss issues surrounding large-scale multidisciplinary facilities, with a current focus on neutron sources, high-power lasers and light source facilities. Dr Lubben takes over from Dame Frances Saunders DBE CB, FSAG Chair since 2018. During this time, Dame Frances has overseen prioritisation of major infrastructure projects such as the ISIS Endeavour programme and Diamond II upgrade – as well as providing key strategic insight to shape the future of facilities and infrastructure within UKRI as part of our Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IAC).

Have you received UKRI funding for AI research in the last three years? Here's a great chance to shine a spotlight on your impact. Submit your contributions by 30th April and be part of shaping the future of AI! 

Welcome to our 24 newly-appointed Council members! We’re looking forward to working with all of you across UKRI. AHRC: Seetha Kumar Tim Gardam Anita Bhalla Emma Kane BBSRC: James Briscoe EPSRC: Dr Dave Smith Simon King Professor Ian White ESRC: Andrew Dilnot Professor David Halpern Professor Cecilia Wong MRC: Professor Nadeem Sarwar Professor Nancy Rothwell Professor Sir Mark Caulfield NERC: Professor Peter Cox Professor Richard Bardgett Nick Folland Research England: Dr Tony Raven Professor Dina Kiwan Professor Dame Julia Buckingham STFC: Professor Jayne Lawrence Professor Dave Charlton Professor Andrew Pontzen Professor Stan Bentvelsen Our thanks also go to our outgoing Council members for their service.

Thanks to The Naked Scientists for another fantastic feature of the technology we're supporting: this week, the enzymes fighting the plastic crisis 🧴

UKRI India co-organised a two-day scoping workshop in Chandigarh, bringing together experts from the UK and Indian to explore opportunities in sustainable agriculture. The workshop was an exciting collaboration between Innovate UK, BBSRC, UKRI India, and our Indian partners, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), in partnership with the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI). In preparation for the workshop, colleagues from Innovate UK and BBSRC visited New Delhi for a site visit to the BRIC-National Institute of Plant Genome Research, India. We are grateful to Dr Debasis Chattopadhyay, NIPGR Director, and Dr. Gitanjali Yadav for hosting us. We also extend our sincere thanks to Professor Ashwani Pareek and his colleagues at NABI, our brilliant facilitator, and all the participants for their time, expertise and enthusiasm. UKRI, DBT and BIRAC are committed to strengthening UK-India collaboration in Sustainable Agriculture.

This week we published a new brochure showcasing the technologies of tomorrow that we’re supporting through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund. Since its launch in 2023, the programme has invested over £320 million into accelerating technologies that have the potential to improve lives and livelihoods and grow the UK economy. Its areas of focus are: -       AI -       Quantum Technologies -       Engineering Biology -       Future Telecommunications The new brochure features a range of people and projects supported through the Technology Missions Fund: from quantum sensors that allow accurate positioning even where GPS can’t reach, to high-speed energy-efficient Li-FI for 6G telecommunications. Read the brochure here: https://lnkd.in/efkAqjcY

Can mud help us predict tsunamis? Meet Cían McGuire, a librarian of sorts. But it's not books that he's watching over, it's mud! As Deputy Curator at the British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility (BOSCORF), National Oceanography Centre, he looks after 2,500 sediment cores from the ocean floor. These time capsules of Earth’s history can tell us about volcanic eruptions, asteroid impacts, carbon level changes and even the Sahara’s transformation from grassland to desert. By preserving and analysing these cores, work like Cían’s means scientists can track climate records over thousands and millions of years, and better predict events like tsunamis. 📺 Watch the full episode from our day with Cían here: https://lnkd.in/egbtPR4T #101Jobs #ByEveryoneForEveryone

I’m returning to employment 😮 https://lnkd.in/g_QF7YQu For the last five years, since exiting Metail in 2019, I’ve followed my interests and built a portfolio career, often acting like a one-man-ninja trying to improve the UK innovation ecosystem.  Whilst I have enjoyed moving the needle with a portfolio of projects, I have missed solving a big challenge with a great team of people Unexpectedly, last April, I got a request out of the blue to apply to run Innovate UK, something I hadn’t considered.  Today, some 11 months later, I have been selected as the preferred new Executive Chair (I still have a select committee hearing to get through).  I’m thrilled, excited, honoured and rightly anxious to do justice to the opportunity and responsibility. I may be a startup guy and this an arms length government bureaucracy, but It’s a role I couldn’t possibly turn down, as it represents the biggest lever opportunity there is to turbocharge the UK innovation ecosystem. Innovate UK is a vital part of the UK innovation ecosystem and was important to my journey at Metail, where we won multiple grants.  I’m also looking forward to being part of this team, as I have only ever met incredibly passionate people determined to inclusively help businesses and drive innovation up and down the country.  In an increasingly competitive global environment, however, I believe it can and needs to be an even more evidence-based and focused institution to drive UK innovation and economic growth, and I relish the trust that is being placed in me to influence its future effectiveness and direction. I hope that my energy, skills, network and experience can do justice to the role and I hope that you will all help me to help you drive and strengthen the UK’s position as a global leader in science and technology. I hope to get my feet under the table after the Easter holidays, #ukinnovation

Congratulations to Tom Adeyoola, who has been named as the government’s preferred candidate for the role of Executive Chair of Innovate UK. He brings a wealth of experience, spanning technology, investment, entrepreneurship and digital transformation. As co-founder of Extend Ventures, he has worked with Innovate UK to improve diversity in grant funding and support underrepresented entrepreneurs. He also serves on the steering board of The Startup Coalition, advocating for high-growth tech businesses across the UK. Whilst on the board at Channel 4, he focused on digital transformation and championed innovation funding in the creative industries. He has also been a driving force in exploring the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the economy, from education to public services. UKRI Chief Executive Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser said: “Tom Adeyoola’s appointment is excellent news for Innovate UK and the whole of UKRI. His experience and insight as a technology entrepreneur and business leader will bring enormous benefits and expertise to the organisation at this critical time.  “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Stella Peace for her superb leadership as interim Executive Chair. Stella will continue to play a major role for UKRI as Innovate UK’s Executive Director of Healthy Living and Agriculture.” Tom's appointment is subject to scrutiny by the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee on Tuesday 8th April. More details: https://lnkd.in/eEdJ5DkT

We’re updating our funding policies to reduce inconsistencies and support more financially sustainable research. From 1 April 2025, these changes will be introduced on new funding opportunities launched in the UKRI Funding Service (TFS). The key policy updates are: 🟢 Equipment costs: We will now fund all equipment purchases at 80% of their full economic cost (fEC), improving cost transparency across research projects. Some exceptions remain, including: - fully funded equipment for specific infrastructure opportunities - international partner costs (for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Development Assistance Committee-listed countries) - instrument development awards. 🟢 Capital equipment threshold: The threshold for capital equipment will increase from £10,000 to £25,000. Any single item above this amount will be classified as capital expenditure, requiring justification in grant applications. This adjustment reflects the evolving costs of research and reduces administrative burdens on smaller purchases. 🟢 Institutional matched funding: We’re also providing clearer guidance on institutional matched funding to ensure transparency and fairness in research funding. The default position will be that there is no expectation of matched funding. These changes support a fairer funding distribution and provide research organisations with greater clarity when planning their budgets. Head to our website for the full details.