Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to page 10 of the UK Science and Technology Framework, what steps she plans to take to support funders to experiment with new approaches; and whether she plans to introduce those new approaches for government funded research and development programmes.

The Government will respond to the recommendations in the Independent Review of Research Bureaucracy in Spring 2023. The review recommended that funders should seek to reduce bureaucratic burdens and improve application processes, including through experimenting with new funding approaches. The Government response will set out further detail on this.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is implementing a new funding service based on a flexible digital platform which will enable the ability to trial future funding approaches.