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.
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."
The IRC is funded by UKRI via the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Innovate UK.
It will be led by Professor Tim Vorley at Oxford Brookes University and Professor Stephen Roper at the University of Warwick, both of whom have a long and successful track record of delivering high quality research and advice for UKRI.
This article was first published on 13 June by UK Research and Innovation.