Recommendation 9

We support the principles behind the government and UKRI’s efforts to reform research funding, streamlining and coordinating work across its councils, and deploying it to drive economic growth. However, this should be carefully managed to take into account the impact on the UK’s international commitments and reputation. The welcome emphasis on achieving economic growth should not be at the expense of the longer- term, curiosity-driven work that is needed to drive scientific progress, and should not be allowed to damage the UK’s international standing or wider science diplomacy. Science diplomacy should be explicitly incorporated into UKRI’s remit, to help ensure that its funding decisions, programmes and international partnerships are aligned with the UK’s strategic objectives. (Conclusion, Paragraph 50) 39