MPs hear suggestions for ‘set lifetime’ and refocused scope for proposed agency post Covid-19
A much talked about new UK funding agency inspired by the Advanced Research Projects Agency in the United States may need to change its scope and could benefit from having a “set lifetime” to start with, MPs have heard.
In written evidence submitted to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry on the 2020 budget for research and innovation, Mark Walport, outgoing CEO of the country’s main funding agency UK Research and Innovation, hinted that the agency might need to be reshaped in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It will be important to consider the impacts of Covid-19 on the overall research and innovation system,” he said. “The scope of the new agency should be informed by consideration of what the UK’s research and innovation should look like post Covid-19.”
Walport warned there was already evidence that businesses and charities were reducing investment in research which would hit some disciplines, such as engineering and life sciences, hard.
Rupert Lewis, chief science policy officer Royal Society, suggested it might be best if UK Arpa was not immediately set-up for the long term.
Its success will depend on having a clear mission and being both different to existing funders and aligned with current innovation.
“This will not be easy and so an initial exploratory period may be beneficial,” he said. “It may also be valuable to consider whether the organisation should have a set lifetime”.