Advanced Research & Invention Agency to launch in UK

ARIA will be independently led by top UK scientists and backed by £800m of government funding, as set out by chancellor Rishi Sunak in the March 2020 budget. The plans were revealed today (19 February) by business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, as part of government plans to ‘cement the UK’s position as a global science superpower’.

Tasked with funding ambitious, high-risk research, the Advanced Research & Innovation Agency aims to support discoveries that could prove transformational to people’s lives, creating highly-skilled jobs across the country in the process. This will be achieved with flexibility and speed by looking at how to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and experimenting with different funding models, the government said.

Models that have proved successful in other countries, such as the US Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and its successor DARPA, have inspired the creation of ARIA. Funding models explored will include program grants, seed grants, and prize incentives.