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
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is a department of the government of the United Kingdom. Established in February 2023, DSIT took on policy responsibilities from the former Department for Business, Energy and Indus ...
.
History and role
Established on 1 April 2018 by the
Higher Education and Research Act 2017, UKRI brought nine organisations into one unified body.
UKRI was created following a report by Sir
Paul Nurse
Sir Paul Maxime Nurse (born 25 January 1949) is an English geneticist, former President of the Royal Society and Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along ...
, the President of the
Royal Society, who recommended the merger in order to increase integrative cross-disciplinary research.
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".
The first Chief Executive Officer of UKRI was the immunologist Professor Sir
Mark Walport. He was succeeded on 29 June 2020, by
plant biologist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
Professor Dame
Ottoline Leyser
Dame Henrietta Miriam Ottoline Leyser (born 7 March 1965)
is a British plant biologist and Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge, Chief Executive Officer of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Sainsbury Laboratory, ...
.
Research councils
There 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. Innovate UK had its roots in the
Department of Trade and Industry, while Research England succeeded the former
Higher Education Funding Council for England
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engla ...
. Research England is responsible for the
Research Excellence Framework, or REF, and is developing a new knowledge exchange framework, KEF.
See also
*
Advanced Research and Invention Agency
References
Sources
*
External links
*
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Funding bodies in the United Kingdom
Innovation in the United Kingdom
Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government
Research and development in the United Kingdom
Research funding agencies
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy