41st Report - UK Research and Innovation

As the sponsoring department responsible for settings UKRI’s objectives, DSIT makes the main decisions on the shape of UKRI’s portfolio, including allocations to the research councils, using advice from UKRI.8 UKRI’s task is to advise on how best to turn … Read more As the sponsoring department responsible for settings UKRI’s objectives, DSIT makes the main decisions on the shape of UKRI’s portfolio, including allocations to the research councils, using advice from UKRI.8 UKRI’s task is to advise on how best to turn these priorities into action, and then to 4 C&AG’s Report, paras 2, 3 5 C&AG’s Report, para 3 6 C&AG’s Report, para 4 7 Committee of Public Accounts, UK Research and Innovation Written evidence 8 C&AG’s Report, para 1.5 8 deliver them.9 In 2023–24 UKRI spent £6.0 billion of its budget on R&I grant funding across its research councils and Innovate UK, excluding block grants to higher education institutions in England.10 Show less

View Details →

UKRI does not consolidate or rank the government policies and activities that it is expected to support, meaning that the government does not currently have an overall picture of what it is asking UKRI to do.17 We asked DSIT how … Read more UKRI does not consolidate or rank the government policies and activities that it is expected to support, meaning that the government does not currently have an overall picture of what it is asking UKRI to do.17 We asked DSIT how confident it is there are clear lines of sight from the development of government policy to funding activity and through to UKRI.18 DSIT said that there was room for improvement. While there may be strong interactions between DSIT and UKRI, DSIT acknowledged that it was difficult for people outside this process to understand how UKRI manages 9 Q 33 10 C&AG’s Report, para 7 11 Q 6, 35 12 Q 26 13 Q 10 14 Q 33 15 C&AG’s Report, para 1.12 16 Q 34 17 C&AG’s Report, para 1.13 18 Q 34 9 the necessary trade-offs and convert government policy into action.19 Professor Grant cited health-related research as an area where it is hard to get a simple picture of what is going on and where.20 19 Q 34 20 Q 15 10 2 Oversight Monitoring performance against objectives Show less

View Details →

To be able to articulate the value of public investment in R&I, it is vital that UKRI can monitor progress and performance against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In 2018, when UKRI was formed, DSIT set 10 strategic … Read more To be able to articulate the value of public investment in R&I, it is vital that UKRI can monitor progress and performance against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In 2018, when UKRI was formed, DSIT set 10 strategic objectives for UKRI and published them in a framework document. In 2022, UKRI published its first five-year strategy, with six strategic objectives.21 None of these objectives are specific, measurable or time-bound meaning it is difficult to understand what UKRI is seeking to achieve and what DSIT expects UKRI to achieve.22 DSIT acknowledged that it can and should do more to address this and told us that it intends to introduce more measurable outcomes for UKRI during summer 2025.23 Show less

View Details →

We asked UKRI how it knows the organisation has been successful or not in the absence of measurable objectives. UKRI outlined how it uses an ‘annual balanced scorecard’ of indicators to track the health of the R&I system.24 The scorecard … Read more We asked UKRI how it knows the organisation has been successful or not in the absence of measurable objectives. UKRI outlined how it uses an ‘annual balanced scorecard’ of indicators to track the health of the R&I system.24 The scorecard comprises over 100 metrics across four themes: its impact; stakeholders’ experience of UKRI; the health of the UK’s R&I system; and the extent to which UKRI is learning and improving as an organisation.25 We asked UKRI where we can track the metrics highlighted in its ‘annual balanced scorecard’. It told us that it reports to DSIT quarterly, but the scorecard is not available online to wider government departments or the public.26 Show less

View Details →

The government recently set out its aim to more clearly define and justify the allocation of R&I funding between curiosity-driven basic research; targeted research aligned to government ambitions including economic growth; and investment to support innovative businesses including scale-up.31 DSIT … Read more The government recently set out its aim to more clearly define and justify the allocation of R&I funding between curiosity-driven basic research; targeted research aligned to government ambitions including economic growth; and investment to support innovative businesses including scale-up.31 DSIT told us it welcomes this added clarity, feeling it is easier to make decisions on R&I “when it is clear what the Government actually want at a high level.”32 Show less

View Details →

UKRI is working to address significant limitations in its data systems, which restrict its ability to efficiently manage its grant spending in a strategic way. To effectively manage R&I funding, it is vital to know what is being funded across … Read more UKRI is working to address significant limitations in its data systems, which restrict its ability to efficiently manage its grant spending in a strategic way. To effectively manage R&I funding, it is vital to know what is being funded across a portfolio, and against important research objectives, so that UKRI can take informed decisions such as whether projects need to be scaled up or stopped.33 Better visibility on where UKRI invests its money can also help UK trade envoys to promote opportunities for overseas investors to invest in R&I in the UK.34 Professor Boyle told us how important it is to identify geographical clusters, at which to target investment in R&I, such as the semiconductor industry in south Wales. Professor Boyle said that such clusters may already receive large amounts of innovation funding, but that such investments are not sufficiently joined-up. 35 Show less

View Details →

DSIT highlighted work that it has done in recent years to be able to look at the whole range of R&D spending across government but acknowledged that there is a lot more work to do to bring together all the … Read more DSIT highlighted work that it has done in recent years to be able to look at the whole range of R&D spending across government but acknowledged that there is a lot more work to do to bring together all the R&D data from across government and to be able to talk about it as a single system.36 For example, in 2024 the Department and UKRI set up a Metascience Unit to develop and share evidence on the best ways to 29 Q 76 30 Q 77 31 C&AG’s Report, para 1.15: Qq 16, 21 and 35 32 Q 40 33 C&AG’s Report, para 13 34 Q 42 35 Q 18 36 Q 40 12 practice, fund and support science, including through experiments to test potential improvements to UKRI’s processes.37 UKRI told us that these experiments would include ways to bring data sources together from across government on investment in R&I.38 Show less

View Details →

We asked whether the new systems that UKRI is developing could be adopted by other departments to provide insight across all government investment in research and innovation.39 UKRI noted that, while it invests a substantial amount of taxpayers money, this … Read more We asked whether the new systems that UKRI is developing could be adopted by other departments to provide insight across all government investment in research and innovation.39 UKRI noted that, while it invests a substantial amount of taxpayers money, this sum amounts to less than half of what government as a whole invests in R&D.40 UKRI explained that the new system would manage both the investment funding allocated directly to it and the additional £1 billion in funding that UKRI manages on behalf of other departments each year.41 UKRI said that its “Databank”, where data from across the organisation are captured in a common format so that they can be more easily analysed, is being designed so that even if other departments are not using the same system, UKRI can bring those different data sources together. UKRI told us that in the long-term it expects its updated data systems to provide visibility across all of the government’s £20.4 billion funding portfolio. However, UKRI did not give us a firm date by which it would achieve this aim.42 IT systems Show less

View Details →

As we have reported before, one of the most serious risks to all parts of Government and industry is large-scale-assaults on their cyber security defences and ensuring their resilience against such attacks. Outdated legacy systems, such as those at UKRI, … Read more As we have reported before, one of the most serious risks to all parts of Government and industry is large-scale-assaults on their cyber security defences and ensuring their resilience against such attacks. Outdated legacy systems, such as those at UKRI, increase the cyber risk to government.53 UKRI told us it takes cyber seriously and its updated systems have been designed with “cyber in mind from the beginning”, and that it runs continual cyber and phishing awareness training with staff.54 46 Q 20 47 C&AG’s Report, para 1.28 48 C&AG’s Report, para 1.29 49 Q 41 50 Qq 41-42 51 Q 43, C&AG’s Report, para 1.28 52 Q 54 53 Committee of Public Accounts, Government cyber resilience, Twenty-Fourth Report of Session 2024–25, HC 643, May 2025 54 Q 57 14 3 Risk and reward Portfolio approach to risk management Show less

View Details →

We asked UKRI if it could give us an example of a high-risk project it is supporting. UKRI gave us an example from past use of BBSRC funding where techniques were considered incredibly demanding at the time 55 Q 22 … Read more We asked UKRI if it could give us an example of a high-risk project it is supporting. UKRI gave us an example from past use of BBSRC funding where techniques were considered incredibly demanding at the time 55 Q 22 56 Q 58 57 C&AG’s Report, para 2.6 58 C&AG’s Report, para 14 59 Q 21-22 60 Q 59 61 Q 58 15 but are not used now as the science has moved on.62 We asked UKRI to give us its best example today of a high-risk, strategic and might fail project absolutely worth funding. UKRI told us of its cross council interdisciplinary responsive mode scheme, where it has set up specific funding to do interdisciplinary research that does not fit into any of the current research council remits, but it did not identify any individual high risk projects it is currently funding because of the potentially high rewards.63 We noted that it seemed the UKRI board does not have an active programme overseeing its high-risk programmes that may fail, which UKRI did not dispute, replying “No, it’s a chequerboard”.64 Scaling up commercially Show less

View Details →

UKRI does not have a set of clearly defined objectives against which to judge its performance and hold it accountable. To articulate the value of public investment in R&I, it is important to monitor progress and performance against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). UKRI lacks specific, measurable, achievable, …

View Details →

There is insufficient clarity about, and visibility of, where UKRI is investing its money. Knowing where UKRI invests its money is essential to good financial management, while also helping organisations in the private sector to guide their investment decisions. For example, it can be more attractive for investors, and more …

View Details →

UKRI does not yet have the IT systems of a modern organisation. UKRI can classify its grants by theme, based on the award title and description and can produce one-off analyses of parts of its portfolio. For example, in 2024 it produced a review of its portfolio of spending on …

View Details →

It is unclear how UKRI manages risk across its portfolio and what the different parts of its portfolio are meant to achieve. UKRI has repeatedly referenced the importance of its portfolio approach to funding research and innovation. However, the committee is not convinced that the components of UKRI’s portfolio and …

View Details →

DSIT and UKRI face severe challenges in helping UK research and innovation to scale up commercially against a backdrop of intense international competition and a tight fiscal environment. The government considers research and innovation and the diffusion of new technologies to be vital to the UK’s future and to achieving …

View Details →

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on public funding of research and innovation.1 We also took evidence from Sir David Grant CBE, author of the …

View Details →

We asked DSIT what it would consider the top three KPIs that it would encourage incoming UKRI leadership to track. DSIT recommended overall public and private spend on R&D, UK global rankings on the creation of ideas and, UK global rankings in scale-up growth and application of research.29 At a …

View Details →

UKRI is formed of seven research councils, Research England (which supports research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England), and Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.43 Since its establishment, UKRI has faced challenges unifying the separate data systems of its predecessor organisations, including poor and disconnected data.44 UKRI …

View Details →

Despite developing modern IT systems being a priority for UKRI since 2019, the introduction of updated systems has been delayed.48 This delay, UKRI told us, was due to lengthy government procurement processes and “challenges of delivery in UKRI”.49 However, once fully functional, UKRI told us its new system should capture …

View Details →

To effectively manage R&I funding, it is crucial to have good information on what is being funded across a portfolio. Professor Boyle outlined the importance of needing high-risk, high reward research but also the need to support “winners” and low-risk, high-reward research.55 DSIT told us it expected multiple projects in …

View Details →

UKRI’s total portfolio of funding comprises a wide range of investments, including R&I grants, strategic institutional funding to English Higher education providers and institutions, and UKRI says it balances risk across its portfolio by the type of funding mechanism.57 UKRI considers R&I grant funding to be of higher risk than …

View Details →

The government considers R&I and the diffusion of new technologies to be vital to the UK’s future and to achieving its mission to grow the UK economy.65 Achieving this growth will require UK companies to successfully scale up their commercial exploitation of R&I.66 Professor Boyle told us that while the …

View Details →

We asked if there were specific fields in which the UK is strong scientifically but where we are less good as a country at scaling it up.70 In correspondence following the session, DSIT explained that the Government Office of Science runs a technology insights unit that produces the Science Power …

View Details →

We asked what UKRI and DSIT are doing to address the systemic challenges to achieving economic growth by commercialising the results of R&I.74 DSIT told us that it is currently focusing on how public sector investors (including Innovate UK, the British Business Bank, the National Wealth Fund, and UK Export …

View Details →