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Funders and funding

UKRI and the research councils, charities, foundations and industry: who pays for research, on what terms, and what changes when the money moves. Newest first. The whole archive →

Explainer: The dual support systemJust what is the dual support system, and why is the university sector so keen to defend it?Analysis · 23 Oct 2026 The Missions Accelerator Programme, unpackedBig bets, best bets, and more powerful nudges – James Coe breaks down UKRI’s £500m initiativeAnalysis · 20 Oct 2026 Further detail on cuts at STFC multidisciplinary facilitiesCouncil lays out savings being made in pursuit of 15 per cent budget reductionNews · 15 Oct 2026 A shifting landscape of data management plansUKRI prepares to update its approach, as a new report sets out the challengesAnalysis · 15 Oct 2026 UKRI updates its research data policyNew guidelines will apply to council-funded research and other UKRI schemes from AprilNews · 14 Oct 2026 UKRI opens voluntary exit schemeFuture operating model expected to mean “fewer roles are needed in some areas and more in others”News · 13 Oct 2026 Universities Wales: the priority given to R&I in Wales is “especially low”Budget submission calls for Welsh government to address longstanding underinvestment in researchNews · 8 Oct 2026 Knowledge Exchange Framework, edition sixResearch England publishes KEF6 resultsNews · 7 Oct 2026 ARIA begins recruitment for a new chairHighly experienced panel to assess candidatesNews · 7 Oct 2026 Another £3m for proof-of-concept funding in ScotlandSecond year of Scottish government research commercialisation awards announcedNews · 5 Oct 2026 The Collaboration for a Sustainable Future programmeResearch England’s investment in a more collaborative higher education research landscape opens for applicationsAnalysis · 2 Oct 2026 ESRC sets out its plans for new funding awardsThe funding council introduces three new opportunitiesNews · 1 Oct 2026 New UKRI leadership team appointmentsIncluding Tom Taylor’s arrival as next CFONews · 30 Sep 2026 UKRI’s transformational yearNew strategy, new narratives, changes to grants and a whole lot of buckets. Here’s what’s been going onAnalysis · 29 Sep 2026 Does Britain need its own Nobel Prize?A Nesta event on the Labour Party conference fringe makes the caseNews · 27 Sep 2026 ARIA unveils its latest “activation partners”Five more organisations will be funded to create the conditions for breakthroughsNews · 22 Sep 2026 UKRI board meetings: July 2026Who said what at Andrew Mackenzie’s final meeting?News · 18 Sep 2026 An update in the STFC minutes sagaMPs’ concerns about revisions to the December 2025 meeting record get a fuller response from UKRINews · 16 Sep 2026 Wales goes in a different direction on research capital fundingBut UKRI changes will still lead to capital block grant fall in coming yearsNews · 14 Sep 2026 Where has UKRI got to on research financial sustainability?The funder has set out its interventions to date, while a new report considers “hidden costs” elsewhereAnalysis · 7 Sep 2026 Matt Clifford to step down as ARIA chairDeparture from the funder follows criticism of his new role at AnthropicNews · 7 Sep 2026 ARIA chair’s new role at Anthropic creates a “clear conflict of interest”Science committee chair raises concerns following Matt Clifford’s appointment at the AI firmNews · 2 Sep 2026 Data: Low university cost recovery on research persistsThe latest TRAC data shows that university research continues to run at a “substantial deficit”Analysis · 19 Aug 2026 Welsh universities share £200,000 in research culture fundingMedr releases allocations for the fourth year of the WREC fundNews · 13 Aug 2026 UKRI board meetings: March, May and July 2026Three new sets of UKRI board meeting minutes have been published. Here are some of the main takeaways:Analysis · 5 Aug 2026 ARIA shakes up its opportunity spacesAhead of recruitment for a new cohort of programme directors, the experimental funder has defined specific thematic areas for future projectsAnalysis · 4 Aug 2026 UKRI sets out position on accurately costing projectsStatement targets the gap between actual research costs and funding requestedNews · 25 Jul 2026 Scotland funds shared servicesThe Scottish Funding Council has announced the successful projects funded via its so-called University Transformation Framework programme, a repurposing of…News · 24 Jul 2026 UKRI readvertises Research England executive chair roleA second recruitment round to find Jessica Corner’s successorNews · 23 Jul 2026 Research England gets its annual guidance letterA notably short communiqué from DSIT this time round.News · 17 Jul 2026 Two-thirds of ARIA funding stays in the golden triangleTwo-thirds of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency’s £152.3m investment went to organisations in London, the South East or the East of England, the…News · 16 Jul 2026

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