The government has committed to providing the fastest ever sustained uplift in R&D funding, reaching £20 billion per annum by the end of the current spending review period. With an R&D budget of £39.8 billion over the spending review period, BEIS and its partner organisations will invest across a range of priority areas spanning fundamental research, talent, innovation and infrastructure. Diagram 1: A new global R&D programme for the UK In the event we are unable to associate, we will use the funding allocated to Horizon Europe at the 2021 Spending Review to build on our existing R&D programmes with flagship new domestic and international research and innovation investments to support top talent, drive end-to-end innovation and foster international collaboration with EU and global partners. These programmes will enable the UK to meet its global Science Superpower and Innovation Nation ambitions more quickly. We continue to develop these programmes and will formally share them with the research community in due course. The long-term package will likely include:
complementing our existing talent offer, a new flagship talent offer, with high-value, long-term fellowships and a strong international mobility offer. Our bold UK fellowship and award programme will embrace the success of the ERC and MSCA, providing the same career benefits and prestige with enhanced funding and flexibilities to retain and attract top talent in the UK
complementing our existing international investments, an ambitious programme for supporting global collaboration. This will include funds for bottom-up collaborations with researchers in partner countries around the globe; multilateral and bilateral collaborations; and Third Country Participation in Horizon Europe.
complementing the 66% increase in core Innovate UK funding at the last Spending Review and our range of programmes, we would increase our investment in end-to-end innovation by investing in industrial research and innovation. This will address UK government strategic priorities, including those identified by the National Science and Technology Council and industry needs by supporting domestic and international collaborations, focused on developing the UK’s strategic advantage, new and emerging technologies, and accelerating commercialisation and uptake of innovation
complementing our investments in the wider R&D system, going faster on developing world class infrastructure, digital research capability and driving the development of emerging clusters throughout the UK. We would also provide Higher Education Institutions with additional funding to respond to the new programmes to ensure we do not place a further strain on research sustainability in the sector.
As we develop the long-term package, we will aim to take the best features of Horizon Europe programmes – like the ease of participation for researchers – but also do more on the UK’s priorities and ensure we improve the schemes where we can, for example by making proposals less bureaucratic and much more flexible for all partners to increase investment. This portfolio will support our mission of levelling up the UK and build on our commitment to increase domestic R&D investment outside of the Greater Southeast by at least a third over the spending review period and at least 40% by 2030.