Our latest information on UKRI changes

At CaSE’s 40th Anniversary Conference: Reimagining R&D

Prof Sir Ian Chapman delivered CaSE’s annual lecture at our conference hosted by the Institute of Physics on Tuesday 10^th Feb. This was a fantastic opportunity for CaSE, our members, and the wider sector to hear directly form Sir Ian, and question him during the 35-minute Q&A. You can watch the full session back here.

Sir Ian’s speech focussed on his approach to running UKRI and their three missions: advancing knowledge, improving lives, and driving growth. During the question-and-answer session, we heard the following:

• Asked about loss of trust, Sir Ian said he did not believe he or UKRI had lost the trust of the community but recognised that there is uncertainty caused by UKRI’s communications for which he apologised and said had not been good enough. He committed that they would do better.
• On STFC cost reductions, Sir Ian reiterated that projections show cost increases for the STFC (for a combination of reasons) and with a flat budget, this will require cost reductions. He emphasised that no decisions have been made yet on where cost reductions at the STFC will fall, and when asked about impact assessment and consultation he said that this is what UKRI are currently doing.
• On funding decisions across the research councils, Sir Ian committed to running quarterly engagements with the sector to keep everyone informed on the pipeline of opportunities.

At a UKRI hosted meeting

CaSE was invited by Sir Ian to attend a closed meeting on the morning of Wednesday 11^th February to discuss the current issues. Alongside other leading organisations, CaSE were able to put more detailed questions to Sir Ian and his team.

In addition to some of the same messages Sir Ian delivered at CaSE’s conference, we also heard the following:

On past comparisons

• CaSE expressed the need for comparisons and that having this information – even at high level – is critical. CaSE believes making comparisons available to allow for proper scrutiny of public spending is a good use of taxpayers’ money.
• UKRI said they are currently mapping the comparison between previous and future funding at a high-level and this should be complete in the next two weeks and will then be shared.

On Communications

• Sir Ian says he realises this is a period of uncertainty and UKRI haven’t done a good job in communicating the changes.
• In response, CaSE expressed appreciation for the contrition but said that the sector needs to know how and why decisions are being made, and that there needs to be more engagement with the people who rely on UKRI funding for their research and their jobs. The messaging at the moment is confusing.

On funding pauses

• Sir Ian said he realises there is anxiety as a result of the pausing of grant schemes. He went into detail about the MRC, BBSRC, and EPSRC saying that they were undergoing short pauses to facilitate a move to the new and improved systems.

On the STFC cost reductions

• Sir Ian reiterated his position that the required £162m in cost reductions at the STFC is not a budget cut as the budget is staying the same but projections show that costs are increasing. He said they need to responsibly manage that and that UKRI will absorb £100 million of the savings. This will be through efficiencies and cost savings in UKRI, adding that UKRI needs to ‘take the hit’, not the research community.
• This is one of the areas CaSE will be seeking more clarity on in coming days.

On research capability

CaSE raised the issue of financial stress on higher education institutions and how these changes and the aim to invest in fewer things but do them better could have a negative impact on the UK’s R&D capability. CaSE asked who is responsible for oversight of this area and what UKRI are doing to ensure that we don’t inadvertently lose capability in areas that will be important for the UK’s future innovations.

In response, Sir Ian said UKRI is doing some oversight and that DSIT and DfE should work on this together.