Other government departments and public bodies beyond science could be allowed to set long-term research budgets over a 10-year period, the government has said.

While Labour had already committed to providing decade-long budgets for key research funders such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), new guidance explains how other departments and arm’s-length bodies outside the Department for Science and Innovation (DSIT) will also be able to use their research budgets in this way.

According to  outlined by DSIT, departments and public bodies will be encouraged to identify and prioritise relevant 10-year funding proposals related to four areas: infrastructure and core capabilities, talent attraction and retention, international collaboration, and partnerships and business collaboration.

Organisations will be encouraged to ask whether longer-term funding settlements will help to deliver objectives related to each of the four areas.

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The guidance, developed in association with the Treasury, recommends that public bodies should set a maximum limit for the proportion of research budget that, at any one time, should be allocated to 10-year funding to ensure they “retain the agility to respond to new and emerging priorities in the short and medium term”.

Science minister Patrick Vallance said the guidance on long-term research budgets “encourages public bodies to deliver long-term 10-year funding streams where appropriate, while retaining the flexibility of shorter-term cycles to deal with emerging priorities”.

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“This change will provide certainty to certain types of research organisations and unlock vital business investment into our world-class research sector to drive the growth at the heart of our Plan for Change,” added Vallance.

Further details on the initial recipients of 10-year budgets will be set out in the second phase of the Spending Review, which is due to conclude in June, after which the allocation of the R&D budgets will be confirmed.

The new guidance may allow large Whitehall departments with significant research budgets – such as the departments of health and defence – to commit more money to long-term funding.

Welcoming the guidance on longer-term research budgets, John-Arne Røttingen, chief executive of Wellcome, said “staying at the forefront [of global science] requires ambitious and sustainable investment over the long term”.

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“Making progress on critical challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance and mental health, won’t happen overnight. We welcome the government’s long-term commitment to supporting science and scientific infrastructures. This will unlock R&D for breakthrough discovery science and research with potential to improve and save lives both in the UK and beyond.”

Andrew Morris, president of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said the government’s commitment to 10-year R&D funding budgets “represents a positive and strategic shift that the academy has long advocated for”.

“The principles of this approach can provide the stability needed for breakthrough health research and innovation, potentially transforming our ability to tackle complex challenges, from antimicrobial resistance to developing the next generation of medical technologies,” he said.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com