UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
 | |
| Established | 1 April 2018 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-departmental public body |
| Headquarters | Swindon, Wiltshire, England |
Chair | Andrew Mackenzie[1] |
CEO | Ottoline Leyser |
Parent organisation | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology |
| Staff | 7,463 (2019/20) |
| Website | www |
History and role
editEstablished on 1 April 2018 by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, UKRI brought nine organisations into one unified body.[2][3] UKRI was created following a report by Sir Paul Nurse, the President of the Royal Society, who recommended the merger in order to increase integrative cross-disciplinary research.[4]
Working in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government, its mission is to foster research and development within the United Kingdom and create a positive "impact"—"push the frontiers of human knowledge and understanding", "deliver economic impact", and "create social and cultural impact".[3] The first Chief Executive Officer of UKRI was the immunologist Professor Sir Mark Walport.[5] He was succeeded in June 2020 by plant biologist Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser.[6]
Research councils
editThere are nine bodies in UKRI, comprising the seven research councils formerly organised under Research Councils UK and two additional bodies, Innovate UK and Research England.[7] Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) was an Arms Length Body of the Department of Trade and Industry, while Research England succeeded the former Higher Education Funding Council for England. Research England is responsible for the Research Excellence Framework, or REF, and is developing a new knowledge exchange framework, KEF.[8]
| Research council | Formation | Website | Budget 2019–2020[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arts and Humanities Research Council | 2005 | AHRC website | £140M |
| Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council | 1994 | BBSRC website | £459M |
| Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council | 1994 | EPSRC website | £1096M |
| Economic and Social Research Council | 1965 | ESRC website | £252M |
| Medical Research Council | 1913 | MRC website | £742M |
| Natural Environment Research Council | 1965 | NERC website | £444M |
| Science and Technology Facilities Council | 2007 | STFC website | £728M |
| Innovate UK | 2007 | Innovate UK | £1265M |
| Research England | 2018 | Research England | £2377M |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "UKRI Board". UKRI. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ "John Kingman to Lead Creation of New £6 Billion Research and Innovation Body – GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ a b "About us – UK Research and Innovation". www.ukri.org. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ "Nurse review of research councils". GOV.UK. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ Ghosh, Pallab (4 July 2017). "UK Research Chief "Will Not Direct Science"". BBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser to join UK Research and Innovation as new Chief Executive". ukri.org. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Our Councils – UK Research and Innovation". ukri.org. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ Pells, Rachael (14 October 2017). "England's KEF: will it be a 'patent-counting' extra reporting burden?". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ Figures from summing breakdown in budget outturn excluding administrative spend from the "Annual Report and Accounts 2019–2020". UK Research and Innovation. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
Sources
edit- "UKRI's rebrand promotes "knowledge with impact"". 22 October 2019.