Freedom of information (FOI) releases from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

This is a disclosure log of UK Research and Innovation's responses to freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) requests that might be of wider public interest.

If you can't find the information you're looking for, you can make a new FOI request.

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1,354 disclosures

  1. FOI2026/00029: UKRI Expertise and Capacity in New Approach Methodologies (NAMs)

    Request Received: 14 January 2026

    Please provide the following information regarding UKRI's (including its councils such as MRC and BBSRC) expertise, skills, and capacity in New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) / non-animal alternatives, particularly in light of UKRI's role in funding biomedical and life sciences research, its new Policy on Research and Innovation Involving Animals (launched prior to 2026), and its contributions to the November 2025 “Replacing animals in science” strategy. UKRI funds a significant proportion of animal-based research (e.g., via MRC grants involving animals) while also supporting 3Rs/NAMs through NC3Rs and other mechanisms.

    To ensure a balanced and comprehensive response, please address both traditional animal methods expertise and NAMs/non-animal alternatives expertise.

    Details of current in-house expertise and skills within UKRI (across councils, funding panels, grant assessors, and policy staff) related to NAMs and non-animal alternatives in research funding and oversight.

    This includes:

    1. Approximate number of staff, panel members, or assessors with specialist knowledge or training in NAMs (e.g., in vitro assays, organ-on-a-chip/microphysiological systems, computational/in silico toxicology, AI/machine learning for predictive modelling, organoids, validated alternatives such as the Monocyte Activation Test for pyrogens, or integrated approaches like AOP/IATA).

    2. Any dedicated teams, roles, or working groups focused on NAMs/3Rs in grant review, funding decisions, or policy development.

    3. Comparison of expertise levels: proportion of funding decision-makers/assessors experienced primarily in traditional animal models vs. those with equivalent or greater expertise in NAMs/non-animal methods.

    4. Any internal assessments, reports, audits, gap analyses, training needs analyses, or reviews (from 2020 onwards) that identify deficiencies, skill gaps, capacity constraints, risks of bias toward animal methods, or challenges in UKRI's ability to:

    a. Fairly evaluate and prioritise NAMs proposals in funding competitions.

    b. Avoid or mitigate any institutional or panel-level preference/bias toward animal-based research over validated non-animal alternatives.

    c. Ensure robust scrutiny of the 3Rs (especially Replacement) in grant applications.

    5. Actions taken or currently planned by UKRI to address any identified gaps in NAMs expertise and capacity, promote balanced evaluation, and reduce reliance on animal methods.

    Please include:

    a. Training programmes, courses, workshops, or certifications provided or commissioned for staff, grant panel members, or reviewers (with dates and approximate numbers involved since November 2025 if possible).

    b. Recruitment, secondments, external hires, or partnerships (e.g., with NC3Rs, UKCVAM, MHRA, or charities) aimed at building NAMs capability and countering any pro-animal testing bias.

    c. Funding allocations, budget lines, or resources dedicated to upskilling in NAMs or to training in animal methods bias awareness.

    6. Any internal guidance, standard operating procedures, panel briefing materials, or metrics used to measure and improve capability in assessing NAMs proposals fairly, including safeguards against bias toward animal models.

    7. Progress against UKRI-specific commitments in the November 2025 “Replacing animals in science” strategy and related policies (e.g., embedding 3Rs more deeply in funding processes; sharing policy/implementation plans with other funders; prioritising human-relevant research; offering 3Rs training to PhD students and early-career researchers by end-2026; or joint funding with Wellcome/Innovate UK for human in vitro models announced in November 2025). Include details on how UKRI is measuring success in shifting toward NAMs expertise and uptake.

    Clarification of your request:

    Further clarification was received on the 5th and 9th February, and on 11th February you confirmed that your request had been revised as follows:

    • Questions 1 and 3 of your FOI request have been withdrawn

    • For Q2, provide information from June 2024

    • For Q4, additional context was provided: …as originally phrased, including on fair evaluation of NAMs proposals, bias risks toward animal methods, and 3Rs scrutiny

    • For Q5, additional context was provided: including training, recruitment/partnerships, funding for upskilling, etc.

    • For Q6, provide information from June 2024

    • For Q7, additional context was provided: e.g., embedding 3Rs in funding; sharing plans with other funders; prioritising human-relevant research; 3Rs training for PhD students/early-career researchers by end-2026; joint funding for human in vitro models

    • Confirmed that the request can focus on MRC and BBSRC

    An additional question was added to your request:

    8. I would also like information on this issue from the key decision makers for research funding that includes NAMs in the main UKRI body

    Published: 20 March 2026

  2. FOI2025/00054: Project 79327 application form

    Request received: 20 January 2025

    Project Reference 79327 was granted funding between September 2020 and June 2021.  The project manager was Duncan White, who at the time was Company Secretary and a director of Climate Solutions Exchange Ltd. 

     

    The company, which is located six miles south of Barnard Castle in County Durham, was formed on 20 January 2020 with two founding directors, Andrew Howard and Sir Edward Milbank, Bt.  Mr White was appointed on 17 April 2020 and was terminated as such on 30 April 2021.  Mr Howard was the company's project manager for a further successful grant in 2022.   I'm writing to ask if you hold:

     

    1.     the application form that was submitted for the first grant. I believe it would have been sent to you in the four months between May and August 2020. 

     

    2.     I would like to know the date when it was submitted and when it was approved.

     

    3.     I would also like to know if there were any supporting endorsements provided by third parties working in government departments or agencies or any reference made to such supporters in the application. I have in mind endorsements or support from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Defence, DEFRA, BEIS and the UK Space Agency in particular but not exclusively.

    Published: 19 March 2026

  3. FOI2026/00130: Global Counsel meetings and correspondences

    Request received: 17th February 2026

    1.A list of all meetings between the consultancy firm Global Counsel and directors or senior civil servants within the authority in the time period 1 January 2022–present. For each meeting, please also provide list of attendees full meeting minutes any related correspondences, written, by email or orally delivered (if recorded).

    2. All written correspondence between Global Counsel and directors or senior civil servants within the authority in the time period 1 January 2022–present. This includes letters and email.

    Published: 18 March 2026

  4. FOI2025/00992: EPSRC CDT “AI for Digital Media Inclusion” - EP/Y009746/1

    Request received: 05 November 2025

    Under the Freedom of Information Act, I am requesting documents and records relating to the EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in “AI for Digital Media Inclusion,” grant reference EP/Y009746/1, Principal Investigator Adrian Hilton (University of Surrey).
    Specifically, I seek:

     

    1.     Grant award letter and funding agreements for EP/Y009746/1, including any documents that outline funding, deliverables, studentship allocation, and continuation conditions.

     

    2.      Formal collaboration agreements or contracts between the University of Surrey and Royal Holloway, University of London, as submitted to or held by UKRI for this CDT, including management/governance and intellectual property arrangements.

     

    3.      Studentship and funding terms: Full terms and conditions for CDT studentships, including allocation between the two universities, stipend/payment provisions, resource and research support arrangements.

    4.     Documentation about student support, supervision, and research resources available to CDT students at both universities, including provisions for ensuring parity of support and processes in line with UKRI/EPSRC requirements.

     

    5.     Policies, guidelines, or correspondence regarding the transfer of CDT students between University of Surrey and Royal Holloway (including mechanisms for transfer, impact on funding/studentship status, supervision, and student rights).

     

    6.     Any further documentation or correspondence specific to student rights, international student recruitment, and Responsible Innovation for this CDT since initial award.

    Published: 17 March 2026

  5. FOI2026/00118: Software Based Data Destruction Assurance

    Request received: 12th February 2026

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following recorded information held by your department (UKRI and BAS) regarding assurance processes for software-based data erasure of end-of-life IT equipment. 
     
    For clarity, this request relates solely to software-based data destruction. Please exclude physical destruction methods such as shredding, crushing, degaussing or disintegration. 
     
    1. Please confirm whether departmental policy, contractual terms or internal procedures require an explicit outcome-based warranty or guarantee confirming that personal data has been rendered irretrievable through software-based erasure, whether carried out internally or by an external provider. 
     
    2. Where software-based data destruction is performed internally, what recorded evidential assurance does the department rely upon to conclude that the final data state is irretrievable? 
     
    3. Where software-based data destruction is performed by a third party provider, does the department hold recorded information demonstrating that any warranty or assurance provided explicitly extends to the software erasure method used and its claimed effectiveness? If so, please confirm the recorded nature of that verification. 
     
    4. Where no explicit outcome-based warranty is required or provided, what recorded form of evidential assurance does the department rely upon to conclude that software-based erasure has rendered personal data irretrievable? 
     
    I am not requesting technical configuration detail, security sensitive information or supplier specific vulnerabilities. I am seeking confirmation of the assurance model relied upon for software-based data destruction. 

     

    Published: 11 March 2026

  6. FOI2026/00003: James Lattimer Fyfe

    Request received: 3rd January 2026

    This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It concerns information that may be held by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

    I am requesting all recorded information (whether personnel files or any other kind) mentioning James Lattimer Fyfe (1912-1991). Fyfe was an agricultural plant breeder and geneticist, who was employed by the Cambridge Plant Breeding Institute from the late 1930s until 1967. Initially the Plant Breeding Institute was part of Cambridge University, but in the early 1950s it was transferred to the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). The ARC was merged in 1983 into the Agricultural and Food Research Council, which in turn was merged in 1994 into the BBSRC. So I presume that the BBSRC has inherited some of the records of the ARC.

    Since Mr Fyfe is deceased, Section 40 of FOIA does not apply. As proof, I am attaching his death certificate.

    Published: 11 March 2026

  7. FOI2025/01146: Call-off Contracts

    Request Received: 30 December 2025

    I am doing a research project investigating call-off contracts in the public sector. I have identified four potential call-off contracts awarded by UK Research and Innovation, but I can't find details of the framework agreements they were awarded from, or which lots were used.

    I have attached an Excel file that contains the information I am looking at. The last two columns ("Title of framework used" and "Further framework info") is where I am missing information. Please could you provide the name of the specific framework agreement or DPS/Dynamic Market used here, as well as the lot used if the framework was divided into lots. If there is any further info which you think would help me locate the framework agreements (e.g., a link to the framework's Contract Finder or FTS listing, the framework provider, or a widely-used reference number such as CCS's RM codes), please use the final column for this. Please use the second column for the relevant lot information.

    Please note that I have identified these contracts as possible call-off contracts, so some of them might not be. Some could be, for instance, procured directly (without being called off from a framework agreement), or could be themselves notices of the establishment of a framework agreement. Therefore I would kindly ask you to specify in these incidences what kind of procurement was used in the "Title of framework used" column.

    I have provided the title, description, the publication date, and procedure type used to award each potential call-off, as well as a URL link to the call-off in question and a unique reference ID for each potential call-off. Please let me know if there is anything else you need to complete the request.

    Published: 10 March 2026

  8. FOI2025/01100: Publisher Spend

    Request Received: 11 December 2025

    Please could I have the amount of money UKRI has given to academic publishers Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and Sage in the years 2020 to 2025, broken down by publisher and by years.

    Published: 9 March 2026

  9. FOI2025/01151: Outcomes and Publications - Brunel University

    Request received 22nd December 2025:

    Information relating to the ‘available electronic copies of the final report’ for the 'EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Liquid Metal Engineering' (LiME) under Grant Number EP/H026177/1 and the 'Future Liquid Metal Engineering Hub' (Future LiME Hub) under Grant Number EP/N007638/1.

    Published: 3 March 2026

  10. FOI2025/01120: SENshine Ltd and Sensate Ltd projects

    Request Received: 17 December 2025

    Under the Freedom of Information Act, I request the following information in relation to Innovate UK funding involving SENshine Ltd and Sensate Ltd (application submitted Summer 2023).

    For SENshine Ltd (project reference 10113228):

    1. The application summary and project description as submitted to Innovate UK.

    2. Any statements within the application relating to prior pilots, prior results, or existing engagement data.

    3. Any statements within the application relating to ownership of, or rights to use, background intellectual property or methodology.

    4. Any impact or outcome claims that were approved for publication, including those appearing on Gateway to Research.

    For Sensate Ltd:

    5. The application summary and project description for any Innovate UK application submitted by Sensate Ltd in summer 2023.

    6. Any statements within that application relating to methodology, engagement impact, or prior results

    7. The named contributors to that application.

    Published: 2 March 2026