Print This PostTime for something that every editor loves – a time specific blog (sorry Adam). I do think this is a very important question to ask, however, because there is a financial situation brewing that could effect everyone in research regardless of whether they work in an academic institution or in industry. Every year the world seems like it becomes more and more unhinged. We are seeing conflicts all over the globe and increases in political instabilities. As a result, our government is taking a form of action that it believes will strengthen our position from a financial and defence position. Keir Starmer recently committed to increasing our spending on defence to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and has talked about a desire to create our own ‘iron dome’ – an analogy to the missile defence system in place in Israel that can nullify hundreds of aerial threats at once with a 90% success rate.
That is a huge spending commitment and at a time where we are told money is in short supply and we must focus on sorting out our national debt. This has left many wondering what this means for the world of government-backed research funding. We are already seeing the potential impact on Innovate UK – the main vessel via which companies can apply for government funding. There are very few grant-funding initiatives for private limited companies (Innovate UK is really the only one). It is also something that other countries look upon with envy. It is rare to get such great government support for businesses. However, we are yet to receive any commitments of new spending for Innovate UK. Moreover, we have seen the scrapping of the incredibly popular smart grant scheme and, right now, it looks like when the current grants expire, we can’t expect a whole lot more to come through.
The big question now is, will universities observe a similar phenomenon from their go to funding bodies? Well… let’s start with the good news regarding dementia research. A lot of the work done in this space is funded by the absolutely incredible network of charities we have here. We’re talking Alzheimer’s Research UK, Dementia UK, Race Against Dementia, The Lewy Body Society, Alzheimer’s Association… the list really does go on and on. You can find support for most levels of research (if not all) and these organisations are not primarily government funded. They rely on fundraising, donations and philanthropy. In other words… they are safe from the cuts. At least in a direct sense. If purse strings tighten donations may dwindle making funding pots potentially smaller and/or more competitive. Only time will tell but I would suspect the likes of ARUK to continue to provide the game changing level of support they have always done.
However, a lot of other funding bodies could be affected. As government spending priorities shift, we could see a ripple effect on publicly funded research bodies such as the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Council (EPSRC).
Lets start with the MRC. They are a major funder of biological research and do something that is very special indeed – the Developmental pathway funding scheme (DPFS), which is one of the few initiatives that can fund clinical studies. The MRC pumps serious cash into research with a focus on trying to translate new therapies to the clinic. They put up £230m into our UK Dementia Research Institute as a sign to their commitment to dementia research. If we see a tightening of the budget, the MRC isn’t going to suddenly disappear, but we will likely see grant calls becoming increasingly competitive.
Funding initiatives will not disappear. They could get more competitive.
The EPSRC funds a wide variety of research themes. From AI to robotics to computational research and imaging, they often tie into dementia research through brain imaging, wearable devices and AI powered diagnostics and analysis tools. One positive here is that AI is another thing that the government has pledged to pump a lot of money into. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are constantly hiring new people around things like policy development for AI in medtech. This might make the EPSRC calls more resistant to financial difficulties, but it all depends on whether we see a sudden shift in interest to AI for national security applications.
Finally, the UKRI is essentially the parent to the likes of the MRC, EPSRC and Innovate UK. If government research funding remains stagnant or declines, UKRI might reallocate funds to priority sectors, potentially reducing dedicated grants for dementia research. However, this is all conjecture. The simple truth is that we don’t know if and how this will affect the funding landscape for dementia research.
As the UK adjust spending priorities there is a lot of uncertainty, but one thing is for sure, funding initiatives will not disappear. They could get more competitive, but we will still have access to funding options.
The government are fully aware that the fight against dementia is a race against time, and sustained investment is crucial to delivering breakthroughs that improve lives.
Will they really allow funding challenges to delay the excellent progress we have made in recent years? Only time will tell.
Dr Sam Moxon
Author
Dr Sam Moxon is a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. His expertise falls on the interface between biology and engineering. His PhD focussed on regenerative medicine and he now works on trying to develop 3D bioprinting techniques with human stem cells, so that we better understand and treat degenerative diseases. Outside of the lab he hikes through the Lake District and is an expert on all things Disney.
Ajantha Abey
Dr Emma Law
Dementia Researcher
Dr Clíona Farrell
Adam Smith
Found this article by Sam Moxon really timely. I’m unconvinced the general public really understand the vital need for more funding into dementia research or that the dementia are the main cause of death in the UK. I told a group the costs of dementia to the NHS and the UK as a whole at a talk recently and they were genuinely shocked. I’m a tiny little clog volunteer for ARUK and our FRG does its best to raise ££ for the charity but it’s a drop in the ocean really. We need the sort of funding that went into the Covid vaccine – yet so many billionaires prefer to spend it in rockets or superyachts when they could end the heartbreak. End of rant.