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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 6h

The Labour Party conference didn’t deliver any surprises on R&D, but it was possible to feel which way the wind is blowing I sat down with Emily Darlington MP to talk about it. As an adviser during the New Labour years, both on science and within the Treasury, she had some important insights

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 8h

We were told at the start of the year that MRC funding boards had been told to recommend far fewer grants for funding than normal It took a while for the data to come through, but they confirm success rates were down by a big margin The question is now whether the new MRC model will reverse that

A far smaller share of applicants were awarded grants by MRC funding boards in Spring 2026 than in previous years

Only 26 awards were made in Spring 2026, compared to 57 in Spring 2024

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 14h

When the STFC crisis hit, someone said on here it was time to "wheel out the Cox" Well he was fully on show to policy types at the Labour conference yesterday, as @johnmorgan3.bsky.social witnessed He also said he had the last STFC crisis to thank for his stardom (HT @mgmcquillan.bsky.social)

In fact, Cox told us he owed his television career to a previous crisis at STFC, on its inauguration, when he appeared on Newsnight to make the case against cuts and the BBC picked him up for a documentary series. Now he is back beating the drum for curiosity-driven research.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Very clear message from science minister at Labour conference that science is "back in the service of industry" South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard also said "the govt and the system more broadly should not be focusing so much on REF scores; we should be focusing much more on commercialisation"

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

More on the AI-based triage from @isaacbarbosa1.bsky.social The Crane network, which carried out the triage, rejecting 50% of proposals using AI, said: "the confidentiality of the proposals was entirely safeguarded in keeping with our privacy policy" More below

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Reposted by Robin Bisson

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

New evidence raises questions for UKRI on edited STFC minutes Funder insists amended minutes are “accurate summary”, despite differing with slide presented to council www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

researchprofessionalnews.com

New evidence raises questions for UKRI on edited STFC minutes - Research Professional News

Funder insists amended minutes are “accurate summary”, despite differing with slide presented to council

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Update on the "AI-based triage" which is getting lots of (negative) attention

In recent days, there have also been several reports on social media of applicants seemingly being rejected after “AI-based triage”. The funding, while originating from UKRI, was devolved to the Crane network, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to strengthen the UK’s cybersecurity research ecosystem.

UKRI confirmed it did not carry out the AI triage process. A spokesperson said: “UKRI policy does not allow the use of generative AI to conduct application assessment. We are following up with the Crane network to review this situation in detail and ensure compliance with our assessment conditions.”

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Some strong criticism of Aria from Paul Drayson - science entrepreneur, former science minister, HoL science committee member 4/5 winners of £100m for enhancing impact of Aria research - including founding/growing companies - went to orgs outside the UK

“I don’t understand why Aria isn’t using the very strong science and innovation ecosystem on-shore in the UK, especially given the challenges the UK faces economically, and the pressure on UK science funding and our universities. In the context of cuts to physics programmes, for example, it’s very hard to justify why public funding is being used like this,” Drayson said.

“It raises serious questions about what Aria is doing and whether there is enough oversight of it,” he said.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Less than half of people supporting taxpayer funding for research which uses AI at some stage of the process should worry policymakers pushing for more AI in science... That's a massive 35 percentage point drop compared to the general level of support for publicly funded research

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

New UK research security fund expected to focus on universities. Government responds to sector calls for more support to meet costs of stricter security regime. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

researchprofessionalnews.com

New UK research security fund expected to focus on universities - Research Professional News

Government responds to sector calls for more support to meet costs of stricter security regime

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Interesting to see that the "surge in volume of grant applications facilitated by AI" was being discussed by UKRI's board and executive committee in July The board are looking at "impacts to EDI and other considerations", according to meeting minutes www.ukri.org/wp-content/u...

Managing Grant Application Volume
Following detailed discussions between the Board and the Executive Committee on 14 July
2026, Andrew Mackenzie summarised the impact to grant management resources caused
by the surge in volume of grant applications facilitated by artificial intelligence.
The impact to UKRI is not unique but members agreed that UKRI is well-placed to show
leadership in this area and discussion will be ongoing with the incoming Chair. Real-time
monitoring and Board oversight will be needed to track impacts to EDI and other
considerations.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Of everything I've read this week, this nugget is by far the best "Anyone who has worked in research funding for long enough will have seen applications that were never remotely competitive. My personal favourite was an application that consisted largely of a drawing of a shoe."

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

UKRI ‘exploring’ use of AI in overhaul of grant assessment. Funder announces raft of measures in push to halve processing times for funding. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

researchprofessionalnews.com

UKRI ‘exploring’ use of AI in overhaul of grant assessment - Research Professional News

Funder announces raft of measures in push to halve processing times for funding

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

These are not a happy graphs for universities At the UUK conference, skills minister Jacqui Smith said the UK continues to be welcoming to international students, to groans in the room (HT @chrisjparr.bsky.social)

Home Office data released on 10 September show there were 99,500 applications in August, 17 per cent lower than in 2025 and 32 per cent lower than in 2023.

August is the eleventh month in a row in which visa applications have been lower than the same month in the previous year.

In the 12 months to August 2026, there were 360,700 applications, down from 493,200 applications in the 12 months to August 2023—a fall of 27 per cent.

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Chris McDonald: funding system ‘destroying’ value of research. New science minister wants fewer, longer-term grants and a “smoother and simpler system”, he tells Universities UK conference. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

researchprofessionalnews.com

Chris McDonald: funding system ‘destroying’ value of research - Research Professional News

New science minister wants fewer, longer-term grants and a “smoother and simpler system”

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Reposted by Robin Bisson

Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The subtext was turned up to 11 in Kathleen Fisher's appearance at the Lords science and tech committee earlier Tory peer Kulveer Ranger said Matt Clifford’s appointment at Anthropic had raised “a lot of concern in the industry”. “I understand the concern, and Aria was not consulted,” Fisher said.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This announcement is all over the shop. The press release says the strategy ropes in £190m from UKRI...but the strategy itself says £421m from UKRI Which one is correct? Who knows! (We're asking, obvs) assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a9ed0...

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

It's unsurprising that the physics and astronomy community are hoping Burnham's pledge on Monday to "save" Jodrell Bank could open the door to a wider rethink at STFC But it's also getting some traction in parliament. Yesterday Lord Eatwell urged the chancellor to reverse the cuts

The government is also coming under pressure in parliament to reassess the cuts at STFC. Speaking in the House of Lords on 3 September, Labour peer John Eatwell said the cuts announced in July were “particularly distressing”, singling out funding reductions of 58 per cent at national laboratories, which he said have a history of developing technologies including radar, the computer and high-strength carbon fibre.

Eatwell, who was previously president of Queens’ College at the University of Cambridge, said the cuts were “a signal of the nation’s faltering commitment to industrial strength” and called on John Healey, the chancellor of the exchequer who is due to deliver a major speech on Monday, to “assure the country that the new government will reverse the cuts”.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

When the govt set out its R&D budget last year, it included ~£2bn for the EU's next Horizon programme in both 2028 and 2029 - the same as it spends on the current programme The problem is the next programme (FP10) looks set to be far more expensive So where would the money come from to pay for it?

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Speaking to people before Jodrell Bank cuts were public, there was a high level of expectation that Burnham would reverse them as PM First Commons speech and he commits to doing so Definitely a Mancunian angle. He told MPs "“Every one of my generation went on a school trip to Jodrell Bank"

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Science minister handed levers for growing British companies Chris McDonald given oversight of the Office for Investment and the British Business Bank www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

researchprofessionalnews.com

Science minister handed levers for growing British companies - Research Professional News

Chris McDonald given oversight of the Office for Investment and the British Business Bank

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

The government published full ministerial portfolios yesterday Interesting that investment makes up a significant chunk of Chris McDonald's brief - a new move for the science minister - including responsibility for: • scale-ups • access to finance • Office for Investment • British Business Bank

gov.uk

Chris McDonald MP

Chris McDonald MP was appointed Minister of State (Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment) jointly in the Department for Health and Social Care ( DHSC ) on 23 July 2026 and the Department for...

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Never have I been more disappointed in an FOI response Props to UKRI for trying though: "To advise and assist you, I can confirm that any research conducted by NERC on life in extreme environments is already available in the public domain via our grant systems" (Not my request btw!)

This is UK Research and Innovation's response to a freedom of information request
FOI release
FOI2026/00511: Extraterrestrial Presence and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena sightings
Some or all of the information requested was not provided because we didn't hold it.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

£6.3bn really is a huge gap for unis to fill on research each year It's sometimes said that's what QR is for, but QR is part of the calculation: without it the gap would be close to £9bn The biggest way that gap is filled is international student fees (yellow bar), but we all know how that's going

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Curious to see a quote from the new science minister Chris McDonald falling back on the old "science and technology superpower" rhetoric in an announcement about Royal Society fellowships That was a boosterism hangover from the Tories which got quietly phased out royalsociety.org/news/2026/08...

Science Minister Chris McDonald said:

"These fellowships will help support breakthroughs that improve lives, whether it's research with the potential to unlock innovative new treatments for mothers and their babies, or early interventions to save communities from natural disasters.

"By backing exceptional scientific talent through the Royal Society, we're making the UK the natural home for the world's best researchers and the discoveries they bring with them, growing our economy and cementing our status as a science and technology superpower."

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Great day for next year's university students today, but maybe less good for universities? Latest Home Office stats show international student visa applications down again (and July is an important month) Their fees prop up expensive courses like engineering, which saw a 14% uptick in enrolments

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

As someone who first heard about the web on Newsround, and got a Facebook account in 2006 when that was only possible with an ac.uk address, the first half of this was mega nostalgic

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Google denies shift from UK as Deepmind founder steps back. AI lab’s new leader is based in California, with Demis Hassabis remaining in London as chair. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...

researchprofessionalnews.com

Google denies shift from UK as Deepmind founder steps back - Research Professional News

AI lab’s new leader based in California, with Demis Hassabis remaining in London as chair

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

My last day before going on hols was firming up that Chris McDonald had been appointed as the new science minister On my first day back, a mere 18 days later, it's official!

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Confirmation that Jodrell Bank Observatory has lost funding (via the e-Merlin project) under STFC cuts, as first reported by RPN in early July www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Update #2 The Labour business relations team (part of Labour HQ) have said McDonald is the science minister Somewhat bizarrely, DBT won't confirm Nonetheless, seems pretty nailed on... Story updated: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

researchprofessionalnews.com

Chris McDonald to be UK science minister, Labour HQ says - Research Professional News

MP appointed to new business and science department has industrial research background

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Since the piece below was published, McDonald has been appointed as a minister of state in DHSC Would seem plausible to combine the responsibility for research and innovation in both DBIST and DHSC. Preet Kaur Gill, who was previously health innovation minister in DHSC, has also left the government

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Since Patrick Vallance resigned on Monday the question has been who will replace him as science minister It looks like the answer is Chris McDonald He has the chops: - chemical engineering degree from Cambridge - CEO of materials research institute - industry adviser to unis - Fellow of RAEng

researchprofessionalnews.com

Chris McDonald in frame to be UK science minister - Research Professional News

MP appointed to new business and science department has industrial research background

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John Morgan @johnmorgan3.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Chris McDonald the frontrunner to be next science minister, reports @robinbisson.bsky.social. Strong background in industry research: former laboratory manager in Tata Steel’s research division and chief executive of Materials Processing Institute. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

researchprofessionalnews.com

Chris McDonald in frame to be UK science minister - Research Professional News

MP appointed to new business and science department has industrial research background

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Another way to look at these new figures is how much STFC spending will fall compared to forecasts, after the prioritisation exercise While spending was forecast to be £684m over budget across 4 years, with the transitional money shifted from other councils STFC will be trimming spending by £549m

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John Morgan @johnmorgan3.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Burnham's decision to abolish Dsit has taken some flak from science leaders. But big picture behind it is Burnham's vision on the economy - in particular on remedying the legacy of Thatcher-era deindustrialisation. This may mean controversial changes on balance and geography of research funding.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Almost exactly 6 months ago, RPN was leaked a document presented to STFC staff that said the council had to reduce spending by £162m by 2029-30 That kicked off months of debate on how cuts would be made But only now has it become clear the total cost savings needed over 4 years is in fact £684m 🧵

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Very clear from Burnham in this written statement to parliament that science has gone into the business department for "commercial application and job creation" Signal of a longer term rebalancing of the science budget towards applied research? questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-stat...

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Kieron Flanagan @kieronflanagan.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Is the demise of the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology really the disaster that some commentators are suggesting? The nice people at @resprofnews.bsky.social gave me the space to explain why it really isn’t: www.researchprofessional.com/news-article... #scipolicy

researchprofessional.com

Research Professional Sign-in

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Paul Nurse (Royal Soc president) got in early on the Today prog this morning to say Burnham should recognise science “isn’t simply a slave to business and trade” Reynolds said later on Today that “in no way will science be a secondary issue—it will be at the forefront of the business department”

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

So it's official, DSIT is no more Jonny Reynolds is secretary of state for...DBIST? BIST? The officials will have to be called BISTOs... x.com/i/status/207...

x.com

UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) on X

Jonathan Reynolds has been appointed Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

There was a line in UKRI's strategy on Monday that was easily missed, and sounds somewhat innocuous, but I think signals quite a shift for UK research funding By 2030, the funder expects to have completed reform of Research England's quality-related research funding formula 🧵

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

So, today UKRI announced decisions on how cost savings will be made at STFC Or at least they partially did Some big facilities in the UK will be scaled back/mothballed (as we reported on Tuesday) But there are still unknowns about the Particle Physics, Astronomy, and Nuclear Physics programme 🧵

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Concentrating UK research in fewer unis is, predictably, a divisive idea Birmingham VC Adam Tickell acknowledged that “everyone would hate me for saying this” but that, amid an AI-fuelled grant surge, such concentration is "going to work better because there is never going to be enough money" 🧵

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

For 6 months the line from DSIT & UKRI on STFC cuts has been that no final decisions have been taken That is no longer the case, after DSIT approved UKRI's proposal for how to save £162m British research at Cern will be hit, along with UK science facilities Scoop by me & @francesjones.bsky.social

researchprofessionalnews.com

UK research at Cern to shrink as government approves STFC cuts - Research Professional News

Exclusive: Science department approves UKRI’s cost-saving proposal, with major UK facilities also facing cutbacks

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

UK research at Cern to shrink as government approves STFC cuts. 🚨Exclusive: Science department approves UKRI’s cost-saving proposal, with major UK facilities also facing cutbacks. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

researchprofessionalnews.com

UK research at Cern to shrink as government approves STFC cuts - Research Professional News

Exclusive: Science department approves UKRI’s cost-saving proposal, with major UK facilities also facing cutbacks

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Robin Bisson @robinbisson.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

UKRI has put its money where its mouth is on improving the lot of postgrad research students, hiking up the stipend multiple times in recent years But inevitably this has put pressure on how many new PhDs it can fund each year - there has been a 22% drop over a decade, even as funding has risen 🧵

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