Welcome to this week’s Research Agenda. This morning’s essay is from UKRI chief executive Ian Chapman, reflecting on his first year in post. And we’re hosting a free event on 11 November to discuss the funder’s eventful year – strategy, buckets, and all – so get it in your calendar now.

Plus: The PuFin landscape unpacked, ARIA’s new partners, the Russell Group’s thoughts on mayors, and an update on the research professional futures project. Our team’s been reporting from the Labour conference, while Haldane gets to grips with the latest squabbles over the use of AI in research grant decisions.

Michael Salmon, Editor

michael@researchagenda.news

UKRI’s busy year

It has been a transformative year for UKRI and, by extension, the whole of the UK research system. There’s a new strategy, and with it new ways of speaking about research. The overall funding envelope has been protected, but in exchange the relationship with Whitehall has arguably shifted, especially with science policy’s move into the business department. And then there was the “bucket” model of articulating how investment is allocated – let’s just say this has divided opinion.

As Ian Chapman says in his essay on the site this morning, UKRI has sought to become more “deliberate and selective” in what it funds and how it acts. The industrial strategy has given political cover for a more purposeful approach to steering research and innovation, with “picking winners” no longer something to whisper about.

At the same time, a very public backlash over changes at the Science and Technology Facilities Council has visibly demonstrated the importance of getting these decisions right, and put to the test the question of whether the government will intervene in UKRI’s processes when pressured to do so. On both of these counts, the outcome remains to be seen.

Research Agenda was set up to shine a light on what’s going on in UK research, and why – and a big part of that is holding UKRI to account for its outsized role in the system. Not from a starting point of questioning whether it is acting in good faith (it patently is) or accusing it of riding roughshod over what Chapman calls the “negative implications” experienced by some of the research community. But by unpacking the detail of what it all means, and analysing the consequences as they play out.

So we’re delighted to announce the first Research Agenda live event – of many more to come – on Wednesday 11 November. In this webinar we’ll be reflecting on UKRI’s transformational year, joined by a panel of guests committed to plumbing the specifics of what is happening in UK research policy and funding and where UKRI goes next. You can find all the details here.

The week on the wire – every item reported in full on the site.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has announced a £50m investment in a new research centre led by the University of Birmingham, as well as 14 awards to doctoral training centres across the UK which will support over 200 researchers a year for the next three years.

The European Commission has proposed restoring Hungary’s full access to Horizon Europe. The recommendation will now be decided upon by the European Council.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has published council meeting minutes for May and June, covering key internal discussions in the run-up to its prioritisation decisions.

The Royal Academy of Engineering has elected 75 new fellows. The academy notes that more than 50 per cent of its fellows come from underrepresented groups, including a “record 24 women.”

The British Library has appointed Paul Bate as its new chief executive. Formerly CEO of the UK Space Agency, he will take up the new role in November.

The Research Excellence Framework team has renamed sub-panel 3 to include an explicit reference to midwifery. It will now be known as the allied health professions, dentistry, midwifery, nursing and pharmacy sub-panel.

Conservative shadow minister for policy renewal Neil O’Brien has suggested that public innovation funding is “so captured by slop” in a post on X. His comments refer to the fact that ARIA is recruiting an EDI lead.

Worth your time from Wonkhe and across the wider community.

Conversations about academic authorship need to be transparent  Madeleine Pownall and Mary Hausfeld · Wonkhe

Bubbling cauldrons and transient strike teams  Ben Reinhardt · Spectech

NE6: the real Northern Powerhouse  Nick Kemp · Substack

Is metascience being co-opted?  David Matthews · Science|Business

The visibility problem in academic policy engagement  Céire Wincott · LSE Impact

Where research policy made the news this week.

Financial Times   The next generation of American scientists is fading away

The Guardian   Oxford lets OpenAI train its AI models on Bodleian library

Sky News   UK to join new EU ocean science scheme amid El Niño concerns

Forbes   Anthropic’s new science lab announced its first major discovery this week

Scottish Construction Now   UK AI minister marks milestone on Edinburgh supercomputer build

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