UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is an arm’s-length body of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). With a total annual budget of £9.6bn in 2023/24, UKRI is the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation. Government considers R&D and new technologies to be vital to the UK’s future and major policy goals including missions to grow the economy and reach net zero.
The PAC reported in 2021 on UKRI’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), which was set up to help address some of the complex issues faced by the UK economy. The report highlighted concerns around the ISCF’s clarity of purpose, and found powers delegated by Government to UKRI did not strike the right balance between the governance necessary to support efficient decision making and unnecessary bureaucracy.
The NAO’s 2025 report on UKRI considered the extent to which the management of its grants is consistent with the principles of good funding support for research and innovation. Based on the NAO report, the PAC will hear from senior officials at DSIT and UKRI on subjects including funding priorities and strategy, and what arrangements exist for reviewing and evaluating progress.
Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere.
Please note that the Committee is unable to consider or assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues.
If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 23:59 on Thursday 22 May 2025.