We congratulate our CIMR colleague Professor Muthu de Silva, who is co-investigator on a large-scale grant funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is investing £7 million to establish the Innovation and Research Caucus (IRC) as a world leading centre of excellence in research and innovation funding.
Over the next three years the IRC will increase the use of robust evidence and insights in UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) strategies and investments.
This will support UKRI’s significant contribution to realising the goals of the UK Science and Technology Framework, and ultimately help deliver greater societal and economic benefits from research and innovation.
The IRC aims to:
- build a community of research and innovation experts to proactively and responsively enhance UKRI’s funding and support strategies and investments
- work with UKRI to increase the use and influence of robust evidence in the development of research and innovation (R&I) funding and support strategies and investments
- establish itself as a world leading centre of excellence in evidence and thought leadership on R&I funding strategies and interventions
- support both Innovate UK in delivering its plan for action and ESRC in its ambition to create the best conditions for innovation in the social sciences
UKRI Chief Executive Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser said:
UKRI needs access to a robust and actionable evidence base. It also needs to bring together people with different skillsets and experience, who can work with UKRI to understand and implement the changes needed to build a thriving, inclusive research and innovation system which delivers for citizens across the UK.
The Innovation and Research Caucus will have a vital role to play in providing powerful insights into what works, where and why. I look forward to working with the Caucus to create and use those insights to optimise the support we provide to the UK’s outstanding research and innovation system.
Muthu will work closely with Innovation Caucus Directors Professor Tim Vorley (Oxford Brookes University) and Professor Stephen Roper (University of Warwick), and co-investigators from the University of Cambridge and University of Manchester.
For more information about this project: https://www.ukri.org/news/new-network-to-maximise-research-and-innovation-funding-impact/
