A few weeks ago we welcomed the Chancellor’s Budget statement and the publication of Build Back Better: our plan for growth, which provides welcome recognition of the potential of the UK’s high-growth, innovative technology companies alongside the importance of additional government investment in the green industrial revolution. The government is rightly committed to making the UK internationally competitive, encouraging business investment, capitalising on our research excellence, developing talent and ensuring that international innovators working across universities, start-ups, and businesses can readily bring their skills and expertise to the UK.
We welcome both the prominent role for science and technology in the recently published Global Britain in a Competitive Age, the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, and the uplift for research and innovation in the 2020 Spending Review, together with the government’s success in ensuring UK association to Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation funding programme.
However, as the agreement to associate to Horizon Europe came after the Spending Review, there is now some concern that association may need to be funded from the existing BEIS R&D allocation, a scenario that would negate the welcome gains in funding. The Presidents of the UK’s four National Academies wrote to the Chancellor earlier this month to seek assurances that the outcome will not be a real term decrease in research funding at such a crucial time for rebuilding the UK economy.
World-leading scientific research coupled with engineering innovation is the lifeblood of economic success in the modern world, and international cooperation is essential for the success of Global Britain. The COVID19 pandemic has of course impacted heavily on government funding, and it was disappointing to hear that International Development expenditure would be reduced from 0.7% to 0.5% of UK GNI due to the challenging economic circumstances and despite appeals to the Foreign Secretary from many, including the National Academies. We are working closely with our grant holders as these cuts will impact on Academy programmes funded through the Global Challenge Research Fund and the Newton Fund. We are particularly concerned about the impact they may have on the strong relationships the Academy and other UK organisations have built up over several years with research and innovation partners around the world.
The UK faces huge challenges in achieving a recovery that marries economic renewal with the societal goals of spreading opportunity and skilled employment more evenly across the nation. Against this backdrop, supporting both innovation and international cooperation is vital to ensure that the UK translates its world-class research into technological breakthroughs that can enhance the productivity and competitiveness of UK business and deliver tangible societal benefit.
Letters mentioned in this blog:
- Letter to the Chancellor from the Presidents of the National Academies
- Letter to the Foreign Secretary from the Presidents of the National Academies
- Letter regarding the role of R&D in supporting ODA objectives