BU Research Blog

In his Autumn Statement on Wednesday the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, outlined a new National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) that will add an extra £2 billion a year for research and development by the end of this Parliament.

Through the NPIF the government will fund:

• Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund – a new cross-disciplinary fund to support collaborations between business and the UK’s science base, which will set identifiable challenges for UK researchers to tackle. The fund will be managed by Innovate UK and the research councils. Modelled on the USA’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency programme the challenge fund will cover a broad range of technologies, to be decided by an evidence-based process
• Innovation, applied science and research – additional funding will be allocated to increase research capacity and business innovation, to further support the UK’s world-leading research base and to unlock its full potential. Once established, UKRI will award funding on the basis of national excellence and will include a substantial increase in grant funding through Innovate UK

There are several sector statements issued and you can read them here:

• Universities UK – What the Autumn Statement means for universities
• Research Councils UK – Research Councils’ welcome new research funding in the Autumn Statement
• MillionPlus – “A very welcome step forward from the government”.
• Russell Group – “The further detail in the Autumn Statement is good news”.
• University Alliance – Universities are key partners in industrial strategy
• National Union of Students – What does today’s Autumn Statement mean for students?