LONDON – The UK government intends to set up a new agency to support the development of new technologies.
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced on Friday that the Advanced Research and Invention Agency will fund “high-risk, high-reward” scientific research in hopes of making “innovative” discoveries. It is to be fully operational next year.
He said the agency would be given £ 800 million ($ 1.1 billion) to help “the most inspired inventors” in the next four years, which is a relatively small amount compared to other agencies. such as research and innovation in the UK.
The British government’s research and development budget for 2020-2021 alone is £ 10.36 billion.
ARIA will operate independently of the government and will be led by visionary researchers, the government said, adding that it will look for an interim CEO and president in the coming weeks.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said in a statement: “From the steam engine to the latest artificial intelligence technologies, the UK is full of scientific discoveries. Today’s set of challenges – whether they are outbreaks of disease or climate change – they need bold, ambitious and innovative solutions. “
He added: “By eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy and putting power in the hands of our innovators, the agency will be free to lead the technologies of tomorrow as we continue to rebuild better through innovation.”
Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, said in a statement that the importance of scientific innovation has been highlighted in the last year, adding that ARIA offers an “interesting new funding mechanism”.
Dominic Cummings, a former senior adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, liked the idea of trying to create a British version of the US Agency for Advanced Research Projects, called ARPA.
According to the Financial Times, Cummings’ WhatsApp handle still reads: “Do Brexit, then Harp.” However, the newspaper says he is not on the run to be the agency’s CEO, citing government officials familiar with the matter.
Calls for “clarification of mandate and mission”
The opposition Labor Party said the government should provide more details about the ARIA.
Shadow Secretary for Business and Energy Ed Miliband said on Twitter that the government needed to “clarify the mandate and mission” of the new agency and address the “broader funding crisis” facing researchers.
“It’s not clear what ARIA will really do, especially given its modest budget,” said Jon Crowcroft, a professor of computer science at Cambridge University.
The launch of ARIA comes on the way to the new fund of the European Council for Innovation, which amounts to 12 billion dollars. The EIC was set up by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to try to help start-ups in Europe expand and compete with rivals in the US and Asia, which have given rise to several technology giants with market caps. hundreds of billions of dollars.