UK’s powerful funding body takes shape

[Andy]

The United Kingdom’s newly minted unified funding agency has released the first outline of its strategy. The long-awaited document gives the nation’s researchers an insight into how the mega-funding agency — which will command a budget of £6 billion (US$8 billion) — will work.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the centrepiece of the biggest shake up in the nation’'s research policy in a generation. Beginning in 2015, the government put into action a plan to put all the nine agencies that provide public funding for research and innovation under one umbrella. It also pledged an unprecedented boost for science spending and put a team of influential ex-civil servants at the helm.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05199-6

 

[Wonko]

It seems likely that this is an attempt to cut "costs" in the traditional manner, combine "departments" and when anyone says such and such a department has less money use the total figure for funding for all combined departments vs the old funding for 1 department to claim they have massively increased funding.

Cynical? Me?

 

[Invisible Woman]

put a team of influential ex-civil servants at the helm.

Job for the boys. Boys who are already proven adept at working to the preferred agenda.

Realist.

 

[Esther12]

Mark Walport was director of the Wellcome Trust when the Science Media Centre were doing their most to spin results from PACE and stigmatise the patients pointing out problems with it.

He was also a part of the appalling coverage on Radio 4 that the Science Media Centre engineered:

TF: ‘And that according to The Welcome Trust’s Dr Mark Walport, may be the single most important consequence of this campaign of abuse and intimidation.’

Dr Mark Walport: ‘Well it would be a tragedy if the outcome of all of this was that good scientists thought that it was just too difficult to research this condition. We clearly don’t understand exactly what’s going on, and if we are going to find out it needs good scientist’s to work on it. But why would any scientist work on it if they know that all they are going to receive is a torrent of abuse?’

http://www.meassociation.org.uk/201...n-on-bbc-radio4-today-programme-29-july-2011/

Just before this biased and misleading coverage on the BBC Walport had been critical of the BBC's ‘impartiality at any cost’.

Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said:

“BBC coverage of science is usually of a high standard and has the potential to become world-leading if the BBC, as it promises, implements fully the recommendations of the excellent report by Professor Steve Jones. His report highlights the issue that, from time to time, a drive for ‘impartiality at any cost’ by the BBC can lead to a highly misleading presentation of science in situations where the evidence points overwhelmingly in one direction rather than another. It is encouraging that the BBC Executive and BBC Trust accept this criticism and will work with programme makers to improve their understanding of this issue.”

http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-bbc-trust-review-of-science-2/

 

[Esther12]

Wessely was pleased about Walport's appointment:

Prof. Sir Simon Wessely, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Professor of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, said:

“It will be a very difficult role but if anyone can do it, Mark can. Good luck and do look after both Small and Big science.”

http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/e...t-being-appointed-as-chief-executive-of-ukri/

Blakemore praises his 'political acumen':

Colin Blakemore FRS, Professor of Neuroscience, University of Oxford, said:

“Mark Walport is bright, efficient and enormously knowledgeable about science, education and innovation. But, equally important, he has great political acumen and robust independence. I can’t think of anyone better prepared to make the case for the use of science in government and for the defence of the best of British science.”

http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/e...ent-chief-scientific-advisor-in-april-2013-2/