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.

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1,351 disclosures

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. FOI2026/00071: UKRI-3797 AI Skills Hub Specification

    Request received: 30 January 2026

    Please provide Schedule 2 (Specification) of the contract titled 'UKRI-3797 AI Skills Hub' awarded to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on 16 December 2024, including any annexes or appendices, with any commercially sensitive information redacted as necessary.

    Published: 27 February 2026

  8. EIR2025/00418: Solar Radiation Management (SRM)

    Request received: 19 April 2025

    Under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) and the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am formally requesting the immediate disclosure of all information held by NERC regarding Solar Radiation Management (SRM), geo engineering, atmospheric aerosol injection, and any related climate modification activities conducted or supported either directly or indirectly within the United Kingdom or surrounding European territories, including maritime zones.

    This request specifically includes, but is not limited to, all research, contracts, partnerships, deployments, environmental assessments, correspondence, data, and risk reports regarding the deliberate alteration of the atmosphere or marine environment by means of reflective particles, chemical sprays, or other climate-altering technologies. If SRM and related activities are taking place, I demand a full breakdown of:

    1. The types of materials or metals (e.g., aluminium, barium, strontium, etc.) used or tested.

    2. The purpose of these materials and who authorised their use.

    3. The environmental impact assessments carried out beforehand.

    4. The agencies or private contractors involved in execution or research.

    Published: 25 February 2026

  9. FOI2025/01009: Solar radiation management (SRM)

    Request received: 10 November 2025

    On 28th February 2024, UKRI published an article about a new £10.5m, five-year research programme aiming to deliver independent risk-risk analyses to inform policymakers in the area of solar radiation management (SRM). https://www.ukri.org/news/research-programme-to-model-impact-of-solar-radiation-management/ In the section, 'Ethics and Governance,' it states the following: "The public voice is also important and there will be opportunities for public dialogue and involvement within the programme so that this evidence is also included." Could you provide information on what opportunities for public dialogue and involvement within the programme have since been made available?

    Published: 25 February 2026

  10. FOI2026/00024: Innovate UK DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Collaborate and Demonstrate

    Request received: 12 January 2026

    For Innovate UK’s 2025 DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Collaborate, please could you release the following information:

    1.     The number of applications

    2.     The number of assessed applications

    3.     The number of successful applications

    4.     The success rate

    5.     The minimum successful score

    6.     The maximum successful score

    7.     Maximum score of failed applications

    8.     Average grant fund value per project

    9.     Average score of funded projects

    10.  Average number of partners within consortiums for successful applications.

     

    11.   The count of assessed applications by theme:

    Theme 1: Promote Zero Emission Vehicle Technologies
    Theme 2: Enhance Manufacturing Competitiveness
    Theme 3: Future Vehicle Innovation - Software Defined Vehicles (SDV) and Electrical/Electronic (E/E) Architectures).

    12.  The count of successful applications by technology area within Theme 1 (electrical energy storage, electric machines and associated driveline, power electronics including Vehicle-to-Everything, Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) for on road applications, ICE for off road applications, lightweight materials and manufacturing processes, fuel cell systems and associated balance of plant, hydrogen storage and management systems)

    13.   The count of successful applications by technology area within Theme 2 (Digital Transformation, manufacturing process decarbonisation, Lean Manufacturing, Supply Chain Development).

    14.  The count of successful applications by technology area within Theme 3 (Integrated E/E systems, validation and verification technology, embedded Software Development, network communications, Control Systems).

    15.  The count of assessed applications by research category (industrial research and experimental development).

     

    Following clarification received on 26 January 2026, parts 11 to 14 were withdrawn from this request.

     

    For Innovate UK’s 2025 DRIVE35 Innovation Fund: Demonstrate, please could you release the following information:

     

    1.     The number of applications

    2.     The number of assessed applications

    3.     The number of successful applications

    4.     The number of successful applications led by single applicants

    5.     The number of successful applications led by consortiums

    6.     The success rate

    7.     The minimum successful score

    8.     The maximum successful score

    9.     Maximum score of failed applications

    10.  Average grant fund value per project

    11.  Average score of funded projects

    12.  The count of assessed applications by theme (Theme 1: Promote Zero Emission Vehicle Technologies, Theme 2: Enhance Manufacturing Competitiveness, Theme 3: Future Vehicle Innovation - Software Defined Vehicles (SDV) and Electrical/Electronic (E/E) Architectures).

    13.  The count of successful applications by technology area within Theme 1 (electrical energy storage, electric machines and associated driveline, power electronics including Vehicle-to-Everything, Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) for on road applications, ICE for off road applications, lightweight materials and manufacturing processes, fuel cell systems and associated balance of plant, hydrogen storage and management systems).

    14.   The count of successful applications by technology area within Theme 2 (Digital Transformation, manufacturing process decarbonisation, Lean Manufacturing, Supply Chain Development)
    .

    15.  The count of successful applications by technology area within Theme 3 (Integrated E/E systems, validation and verification technology, embedded Software Development, network communications, Control Systems).

    16.  The count of assessed applications by research category (industrial research and experimental development).

     

    Following clarification received on 26 January 2026, parts 12 to 15 were withdrawn from this request.

     

    Published: 23 February 2026