03
July 2020

NML response to the Research and Development Roadmap

The National Measurement Laboratory (NML), hosted at LGC, welcomes the publication of the UK government’s Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap with its ongoing commitment to increased investment in R&D to cement the UK’s world-leading position within science and research and support the individuals behind it.

We particularly welcome the recognition the roles Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs) and other publicly funded research institutes such as ours have to play in creating this future, providing national capabilities for the benefit for the whole of the UK. A more flexible approach to funding priority programmes from UKRI will enable further opportunities for strategic collaboration with industry to access and benefit from national assets. Through our partnerships with institutions and centres such as the University of Strathclyde and Leeds Nexus we remain committed to supporting growth of local R&D capacity and capabilities.

We are pleased to note the government’s reiterated ambition to be fully associated to Horizon Europe and the promise to providing funding to address the shortfall should a fair and balanced deal not be attainable.

The consultation over the next two months must ensure that a wide range of voices from across the stakeholder groups are heard and their input used to develop an R&D plan that truly makes the best use of the unique capabilities and resources we have within the UK. This will strengthen our global position within research and support innovation for the future.