RAEng President comments on ODA and Horizon Europe funding
07/05/2021
Commenting on the importance of maintaining funding for research and innovation and international partnerships, Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), said: “World-leading scientific research coupled with engineering innovation provides the lifeblood of economic success in the modern world and international cooperation is essential for the success of Global Britain. While economic circumstances are challenging, it was very disappointing that research and innovation programmes suffered severely when international development expenditure was reduced from 0.7% to 0.5% of UK gross national income (GNI), despite appeals from across the charity and research sectors to the Foreign Secretary.“The Academy’s own official development assistance (ODA)-funded programmes, supporting engineers from across low and middle income countries to address development challenges, have suffered a 73% funding cut and no new activities will be permitted in 2021/22 with government funding. This will impact heavily on the valuable relationships we have built up with research and innovation partners around the world.
“Given the government’s stated aim to make the UK a science and technology superpower, it would be entirely counterproductive if the research and innovation budget has to be stretched to breaking point because the 2020 spending review did not make sufficient allowances to cover the initial cost of association to Horizon Europe.
We need both dynamic domestic support systems and vibrant opportunities for international collaboration; to put either on hold for a year would be harmful and clearly at odds with the laudable ambitions that the government has set out.
“The UK faces huge challenges in achieving a recovery that marries economic renewal with the societal goals of spreading opportunity and skilled employment more evenly across the nation. Against this backdrop, supporting both innovation and international cooperation is vital to ensure that the UK translates its world-class research into technological breakthroughs that can enhance the productivity and competitiveness of UK business and deliver tangible societal benefit.”
www.raeng.org.uk
