Committees

A new UK research funding agency

Inquiry

The December 2019 Queen’s Speech set out the Government’s intention for:

a new approach to funding emerging fields of research and technology. It will provide long term funding to support visionary high-risk, high-pay off scientific, engineering, and technology ideas

The October 2019 Queen’s Speech briefing note explained that this would be “broadly modelled” on the US ARPA. The US Government’s ‘Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’ (DARPA), which evolved from ARPA, employs ‘programme managers’ on 3–5 year contracts to fund high‑risk, high‑reward research. Its budget in financial year 2019–20 was approximately £2.65bn.

The March 2020 Budget stated that the Government would “invest at least £800 million” in this “blue skies” funding agency, which would fund “high risk, high reward science”.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee will inquire formally into the nature and purpose of this new UK research funding agency.

Read the call for evidence for more information about this inquiry.

Upcoming events

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Past events

Wednesday 17 March 2021
9:00am Private
9:30am Public
A new UK research funding agency - Oral evidence 17 March 2021
9:30am
  • Dominic Cummings, Former Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister
11:00am
  • Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng (Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
  • Jo Shanmugalingam (Director General for Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Wednesday 11 November 2020
10:00am Public
A new UK research funding agency - Oral evidence 11 November 2020
10:00am
  • Amanda Solloway (Minister for Science, Research and Innovation at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
  • Sarah Hodgetts (Deputy Director for UKRI Sponsorship and Advanced Research Projects Agency at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
9:00am
  • Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser (Chief Executive at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI))
  • Sir John Kingman (Chair at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI))
Room 5, Palace of Westminster
Wednesday 7 October 2020
9:00am Private
9:30am Public
A new UK research funding agency - Oral evidence 7 October 2020
9:30am
  • Professor Mariana Mazzucato (Chair in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London)
  • Professor Richard Jones (Chair in Materials Physics and Innovation Policy at University of Manchester)
10:30am
  • Professor Sir Mark Walport, Former CEO, UK Research and Innovation (2017–2020)
  • Jo Johnson (Former Minister of State for Universities at Science, Research and Innovation (2016–2018 and July–September 2019))
Room 5, Palace of Westminster
Wednesday 23 September 2020
2:00pm Private
2:30pm Public
A new UK research funding agency - Oral evidence 23 September 2020
2:30pm
  • William Bonvillian (Lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
  • Dr Peter Highnam (Deputy Director at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
3:30pm
  • Dr Antoine Petit (Chairman and CEO at French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS))
  • Dr Regina Dugan (Chief Executive Officer at Wellcome Leap)
Room 5, Palace of Westminster

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