A recent report via the UKRI shared the important contribution of research funding made by UK researchers tackling the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
The report identifies a number of research milestones. In essence, the report concludes that research funding contributions on COVID-19 should not be underestimated.
In the final analysis, publicly funded research coordinated through the UKRI helped to shape government decision making. As a result this eased the impact of the pandemic and ultimately saved lives.
The projects covered medicine, engineering, social science and the arts. The report explains that decades of prior funding meant that UK research was well prepared in this unplanned emergency.
This was realised in the UK’s response regarding infrastructure, capacity and international cooperation. Ultimately the report notes that this needs to continue, and that without it ‘the UK risks being left significantly vulnerable to future pandemics and other shocks’.
The report findings identify the following milestones: -
Over the course of the pandemic UKRI funded around 1,200 awards with a value of more than half a billion pounds.
This investment represented value for money for the taxpayer, according to the independent report findings. It's clear the contribution of research funding towards tackling COVID-19 led a significant positive impact on everyone's health outcomes.