Research England

Research England
Name	Research England
Type	Executive non-departmental public body
Founded	2018
Parent	UK Research and Innovation
Jurisdiction	England
Chief1 name	Dame Jessica Corner
Chief1 position	Executive Chair
Chief2 name	Steven Hill
Chief2 position	Director of Research

Research England. It is one of the seven constituent councils of UK Research and Innovation, the national funding agency created to oversee all public investment in research and innovation. The body is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education providers in England, with a primary focus on funding through the block grant. Its establishment consolidated functions previously managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and other bodies, aiming to create a more integrated research and innovation system.

History and establishment

Research England was formally created on 1 April 2018 under the provisions of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. This landmark legislation dissolved the long-standing Higher Education Funding Council for England, redistributing its research and knowledge exchange funding functions to the new body. The creation of UK Research and Innovation brought together nine pre-existing organizations, including the research councils and Innovate UK, with Research England established as a distinct council within this new structure. This reform was influenced by the 2015 report, *The Nurse Review of Research Councils*, which recommended greater coordination across the United Kingdom's research landscape. The transition aimed to strengthen the link between university research and the wider innovation ecosystem, a priority highlighted in the government's Industrial Strategy.

Functions and responsibilities

The core function is to fund and support English universities in conducting world-class research and engaging in knowledge exchange. This involves distributing over £2 billion annually in quality-related research funding, often referred to as the QR grant, based on the outcomes of the Research Excellence Framework. A major responsibility is administering the Knowledge Exchange Framework and allocating associated funding to incentivize collaboration between academia and industry. It also manages the Higher Education Innovation Fund, which supports activities like commercialisation, business partnerships, and public engagement. Furthermore, it oversees significant capital investment for research infrastructure, including projects funded through the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund and the Science Research Investment Fund.

Funding and allocation mechanisms

Funding allocations are predominantly determined by the periodic Research Excellence Framework, a peer-review assessment of research quality conducted across UK higher education institutions. The results of this exercise directly inform the distribution of the quality-related research budget. Additional funding streams are allocated through formulaic methods tied to the Knowledge Exchange Framework outcomes and competitive schemes. Major capital funding for large-scale infrastructure is often awarded through competitive bidding processes, such as those managed via the Research Capital Investment Framework. The overall budget is provided by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology through its grant to UK Research and Innovation.

Relationship with UK Research and Innovation

As one of the nine constituent councils of UK Research and Innovation, it operates under the strategic direction and oversight of the umbrella organisation's board and executive team. It works closely with the other research councils, such as the Medical Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, to ensure complementary funding approaches and to support interdisciplinary initiatives. It also collaborates with Innovate UK to bridge the gap between academic research and business innovation. This integrated structure is designed to enable strategic coordination across the entire research and innovation pipeline, from basic discovery to commercial application, as envisioned in the creation of UK Research and Innovation.

Key initiatives and programmes

A flagship initiative is the development and implementation of the Knowledge Exchange Framework, a metrics-based assessment to evaluate how universities engage with the economy and society. The Expanding Excellence in England fund is a significant programme aimed at increasing research capacity in higher education institutions with developing research profiles. It also manages the Global Challenges Research Fund and the Newton Fund within the English higher education sector, supporting research that addresses challenges in developing countries. Other notable programmes include the Connecting Capability Fund, which encourages university collaboration on commercialisation, and the Degree Apprenticeships Development Fund.

Governance and structure

The body is led by an Executive Chair, a position held by Dame Jessica Corner, and a senior leadership team including the Director of Research, Steven Hill. It is governed by a council appointed by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which sets its strategic direction. Operationally, it is structured into directorates focusing on areas such as research funding, knowledge exchange, and infrastructure. Its main offices are located in Bristol, alongside other councils of UK Research and Innovation. Key decisions, particularly on major funding allocations, are made in alignment with the overall strategy and financial rules set by the board of UK Research and Innovation.

Category:Research organisations in the United Kingdom Category:Science and technology in England Category:Government agencies established in 2018