The British Academy publishes response to UK Government’s R&D Roadmap

The British Academy today publishes its response to the Government’s Research & Development (R&D) Roadmap, welcoming its commitment to a host of ambitious research and innovation objectives.

The Roadmap sets out the UK’s vision and ambition for science, research and innovation. Proposals include the creation of the Office for Talent and a set of initiatives aimed at boosting skills to support economic recovery as well as a £300m investment package to upgrade scientific infrastructure.

Professor Sir David Cannadine, President of the British Academy, said:

“The British Academy welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the big conversation on how to achieve the ambitions set out in the Government’s UK Research and Development Roadmap.

“Achieving the Roadmap’s core objective to further the health, prosperity and national security of the UK will require insights from across the research base, including from the SHAPE disciplines (Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts for People and the Economy). This requires consistent investment across the whole spectrum of intellectual disciplines and a diversity of funding approaches, including responsive mode grants for discovery research, such as those awarded by the national academies.

“To harness excitement about the Roadmap’s vision, we need to redouble efforts to build a compelling narrative about how research and innovation transforms lives and provides solutions to our most urgent concerns. UK researchers and innovators from all disciplines have been essential in developing the new knowledge and approaches that have fuelled our country’s progress and prosperity. We should celebrate these achievements and alert the public to the potential breakthroughs UK-based researchers could make with the right investment.”