UKRI

UKRI, or United Kingdom Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body of the UK government that coordinates and funds research and innovation across the country. It was established by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 and began operating in 2018, bringing together seven research councils, Innovate UK, and Research England under a single umbrella to support research in universities, industry and the public sector.

Purpose and remit: UKRI funds research and innovation across disciplines, including the arts and humanities, sciences, engineering and social sciences. Its aim is to promote economic growth, tackle societal challenges and strengthen the UK’s research and innovation system. It provides funding through grants, fellowships and partnerships and supports national research facilities and infrastructure. Open access to funded outputs is a common policy objective.

Structure: UKRI is governed by a board and a chief executive, with a leadership team coordinating across its network of constituent entities. The seven research councils are Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Medical Research Council (MRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). In addition, Innovate UK and Research England operate under the UKRI umbrella.

Funding and policy: UKRI is funded by the government through Parliament and administers funding via competitive schemes, often using peer review. It supports international collaboration and emphasizes research integrity, reproducibility and accessibility of results.