The UK government is looking at using research and development spending to support its 鈥渕ission-led鈥� approach to policymaking, with funding likely to be made available to support projects that further these goals, Lord Vallance of Balham has said.

The science minister told the Labour Party conference that he favoured a more focused and targeted approach to research spending, without neglecting the general 鈥渃uriosity-driven鈥� work that may prove vital further down the line.

Lord Vallance said the government was actively considering creating a fund for projects focused on furthering Labour鈥檚 five 鈥渕issions鈥�: clean energy, growth, the NHS, equality of opportunity and tackling crime.

Outlining how such a fund could work he said that a 鈥渕ission board鈥� could define the 鈥渢hree, four or five things that if only they knew the answer to, if only they could get the technology advance, it would be a massive boost to that mission鈥�.

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鈥淲e then need to be agile and say if that鈥檚 the problem, here鈥檚 a fund that you can apply imaginatively to companies, academia, charities or whatever to try to answer that question or accelerate that technology.鈥�

Lord Vallance said such a system would 鈥渞eally change the way we think about using R&D to further government ambition鈥� and 鈥渃hange the thinking inside government鈥�.

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He said he agreed with Lord Mandelson, who recently wrote in the聽聽that research money should be focused on specific areas of expertise.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get very far by going very slowly across a broad front,鈥� said Lord Vallance. 鈥淲e need to be prepared to make choices and we need to back those choices at scale.鈥�

But he said, 鈥渁 bit of a funding must absolutely go to people doing curiosity-driven work that frankly I don鈥檛 know or understand at the moment, but they just need to do that, because it is going to be important in the future鈥�.

Reflecting on the process of appointing a new chief executive of UK Research and Innovation after he聽reopened the process聽started under the previous Conservative administration, Lord Vallance said it was a 鈥渞eally, really important appointment鈥� and a 鈥渉uge opportunity to drive innovation in the country鈥�.

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Lord Vallance said science, technology and innovation needed to be 鈥減ervasive鈥� across all of government and said since taking on the role after the July general election he had been聽struck by the willingness of ministers across departments to work聽with his team.

Asked what he felt he could achieve as a minister that he hadn鈥檛 been able to do as the country鈥檚 chief scientific adviser, Lord Vallance said it had been a聽鈥渟imple鈥� decision to go back into government.

鈥淚 thought if you are given a chance to make a difference, and I believe this is a chance to make a difference, and you say no then you鈥檝e got to shut up. And I didn鈥檛 feel like shutting up.鈥�

Peter Kyle, the science secretary, said Lord Vallance had made the decision to accept the role 鈥渂efore leaving the room鈥� and joked that the scientist, a former president of research and development at pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline, was a rare of example of someone who had earned less the more successful they had become in their career.

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鈥淚t is a hell of a thing to have had the career he has had and to go into government as a minister knowing all and having seen up front what going into politics does to people, to families, to lifestyles because of the workload and all the rest of it鈥e should be extremely grateful he has made this leap into government,鈥� said Mr Kyle.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com