£800m for scientific research agency
A NEW research agency focusing on areas of science and technology with the potential to generate ground-breaking discoveries has been announced by the Government.
The Advanced Research & Invention Agency (Aria) has received £800 million in funding and will be led by experts who will be given the freedom to identify and fund research involving “high-risk, highreward” science.
The agency will be independent of government and will look at how to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said.
The Government has not yet announced where it will be located – but with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) being based at Porton Down in Wiltshire, GCHQ in Cheltenham, universities that specialise in engineering and the substantial private sector defence industry in the region, the West would appear to be a strong contender to host it.
Mr Kwarteng added: “From the steam engine to the latest artificial intelligence technologies, the UK is steeped in scientific discovery.
“Today’s set of challenges – whether disease outbreaks or climate change – need bold, ambitious and innovative solutions.
“Led independently by our most exceptional scientists, this new agency will focus on identifying and funding the most cutting-edge research and technology at speed.
“By stripping back unnecessary red tape and putting power in the hands of our innovators, the agency will be given the freedom to drive forward the technologies of tomorrow, as we continue to build back better through innovation.”
Legislation to create the research agency is expected to be introduced to Parliament, aiming for it to be fully operational by 2022.
The Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said: “The Advanced Research and Invention Agency will build on the UK’s world-class scientific research and innovation system.
“The importance of scientific innovation has never been clearer than over the last year and this new body provides an exciting new funding mechanism for pioneering R&D.”
Dame Ottoline Leyser, chief executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), said: “The agency will have the freedom to experiment with pioneering new funding models, extending the reach of the current system to support people and ideas in new and different ways.”