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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1,255 disclosures

  1. FOI2022/00222: Rhesus Macaques from the Centre for Macaques

    Request Received: 6 July 2022

    Please can you tell me

    (a) How many Rhesus Macaques are currently housed at the Centre for Macaques?

    (b) In 2021, how many Rhesus Macaques from the Centre for Macaques were supplied to external research facilities? And if possible, are you able to say what type of facilities these were? i.e Academic.

    (c) What was the mortality rate for Rhesus Macaques at the Centre for Macaques in 2021?

    (d) Are you able to provide me with 2021 inspection report(s) on the primates? Or do I need to contact the Home Office for this?

    Published: 11 November 2022

  2. FOI2022/00103: Language and EDI guidance for staff

    Request Received: 21 March 2022

    1...Does UK Research and Innovation currently issue its new employees with any and or all the following....

    (a)...A language guide or similar which advises employees on the most appropriate words, phrases, and terms to use when writing to and or communicating with and or referring to their colleagues and or members of the public and or the organisation's clients/customers/service users and or representatives and employees in the organisation's stakeholder and partner organisations. Typically, such a guide will outline words, terms, and phrases to avoid for whatever reason while providing more acceptable words, terms, and phrases. Such guidance could be included in a staff handbook (or similar) or it could be issued in the form of specific written advice. Alternatively, it could be included on the organisation's intranet site and or it could be issued/held digitally and or it could be included in any training/induction video/film.

    (b)...A guide or similar which helps and encourages staff to promote diversity and inclusivity both in the workplace and or in their dealings with members of the public and or in their dealings with the organisation's clients/customers/service users and or in their dealings with employees in and or representatives of the organisation's stakeholders and any partner organisations. The guide will include but will not be limited to advice on best practice when it comes to diversity and or inclusivity and or anti-discrimination policies. It will encourage staff how to avoid discrimination on the grounds of race and or religion and or gender and or sexuality and or age and or disability and or political belief and or social class and or income and or social background. Such guidance could be included in a staff handbook (or similar) or it could be issued in the form of specific written advice. Alternatively, it could include on the organisation's intranet site and or it could be held / issued digitally and or it could be included in any training/induction film/video.

    (c)....A guide or similar which advises staff on the importance of respecting and using a person's preferred gender pronoun. That person could be a colleague and or a member of the public and or one of the organisation's customers/clients/service users and or an employee and or representative of a stakeholder or partner organisation. Such guidance could be included in a staff handbook (or similar) or it could be issued in the form of specific written advice. Alternatively, it could be included on the organisation's intranet site and or it could be held/issued digitally and or it could be included in any training/induction film/video.

    2...If you have answered yes to any part (or indeed all of question one) can you please provide copies of the guidance irrespective of the form in which it is issued.

    3...Since January 1, 2019, has the organisation issued any kind of guidance (as defined in question 1 a to c) to other employees other than new recruits. If the answer is yes, can you, please provide copies of the guidance irrespective of the form in which it is issued.

    Published: 11 November 2022

  3. FOI2022/00262: Total research spending on COVID-19

    Request Received: 15 August

    I would like to make a FOI request on the total amount of money in GBP spent by UKRI on financing COVID-19 research to date.

    Published: 11 November 2022

  4. FOI2022/00126: Request for copy of grant application

    Request Received: 31 March 2022

    I right under the freedom of information act to request a complete copy of the application submitted by the recipients of funds awarded by Innovate UK, named as the TAG TrustNet, in press coverage of government funding for a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) trial.

    https://mediatel.co.uk/news/2022/01/13/uk-government-invests-in-blockchain-initiative-for-digital-advertising/

    Under the act, I would also like access to any and all documents relating to the decision taken by Innovation UK to award this money to TAG TrustNet.

    Published: 11 November 2022

  5. FOI2022/00139: quinquennial reviews for the MRC UKRI Centre for Virus research

    Request Received: 11 April 2022

    Could we please receive the quinquennial review QQR for the MRC UKRI Centre for Virus research (CVR - University of Glasgow) for the funding Quinquennial Core Funds from the Medical Research Council 2016-2021?

    Clarification received 12 April 2022

    I'm interested in the QQR for the period 2016-2021. In the case where the period is covered in two QQRs i.e. "the 2015 QQR" and the "upcoming QQR" as per your email, I am interested in both.

    Published: 11 November 2022

  6. FOI2022/00251: Innovate UK Monitoring Officers and Grant Consultants

    Request Received: 29 July 2022

    Please can you tell me how many of the Innovate UK Monitoring Officers are also Grant Consultants or offer 'grant consultancy' on the side/as part of their other work?

    We have a come across a number and this seems like a clear conflict of interest - giving them access to Clients and confidential IP.

    Published: 11 November 2022

  7. FOI2022-00176: Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court application

    Request Received: 11 May 2022

    I would like to have access to the research funding application for the research project 'Assessing the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court', as well as to all communications between the funding body and the research project's people.

    I am placing this request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. If some parts of the requested information cannot be disclosed due to legal reasons, the remaining parts of the relevant document(s) can still be communicated to me. ---

    Clarification: 30 May

    First, I am not seeking information about communications that do not relate to the research project: 'Assessing the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court'.

    Second, as you specify since the application for funding was made in March 2014, the request for information regards: a) the content of that application; b) all communications that followed from the moment that application was submitted until the completion of the project in June 2016, and c) all communications that the funding body had with the research project's people from the end of the project in June 2016 onwards.

    For example, this could be to check the implementation of certain post-completion requirements for which the research fund was provided, e.g. a requirement to disseminate the promised research results on the basis of open access. Please note that I am not seeking access to post-completion (June 2016-onwards) communications that have to do with any remaining research funding payment and, in general, purely logistical information about transferring of funds to bank accounts, etc., is not part of the scope of my FIA request.

    Published: 11 November 2022

  8. FOI2022/00228: phd students

    Request Received: 8 July 2022

    I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Please send me the following:

    1) How many UKRI-funded PhD students completed their PhD during the past five years?

    2) How many PhD students left their PhD prematurely during the past five years?

    Could you please give this information broken down by year (academic/calendar/financial year depending on how data is organised). Could you, also, please give a breakdown by research council and also the gender of students. So, for example, I'd be able to say how many male students funded by MRC completed/dropped out of PhD last year.

    I would like the above information to be provided to me in electronic format.

    If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that under Section 16 of the Act, you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.

    If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed.

    Published: 11 November 2022

  9. FOI2022/00227: Success rates on a per value and per grant number basis for all EPSRC panels since January 2017.

    Request Received: 8 July 2022

    Dear Information team,

    Thank you very much for your response. The information you sent me did not go beyond what is already published on your web-interface. In fact it is less, because it does not include, for example the value of panel rejected grants.

    From your justification, it is not clear to me why you feel unable to send me the requested information.

    I understand that your main concern is confidentiality and your that the release of the information may "prejudice UKRI's capacity to successfully attract applicants to participate in any future competition processes."

    The second reason is particularly puzzling to me. I can follow the reasoning that sharing scoring information could, potentially, identify candidates. However, the bulk of the information I requested was grant number, grant value and whether or not accepted. This information can in no way be used to identify unsuccessful candidates. So there are no confidentiality issue.

    In order to lay to rest any remaining concerns about confidentiality, I re-formulate my FOI and ask for summary data only. Please find below my re-vised FOI request:

    Please send me the success rates on a per value and per grant number basis for all panels since January 2017.

    This information is of essential interest to the public because it will provide information whether or not there is a value bias in the application approvals, and will thus provide information about the effectiveness of the EPSRC peer review process.

    Please calculate this data as follows:

    For each panel of EPSRC, split up the data into three classes of grants according to the amount asked:

    £0-150000 , £150001-£400000, £400001 - unlimited

    For each of the three classes and each panel, please report:

    1-Number of grants that did not go to panel (but would have done so had they been of sufficient quality).

    2-Number of grants that were rejected by panel

    3-Number of grants accepted by panel.

    4-Combined Value of grants that did not go to panel (but would have done so had they been of sufficient quality).

    5-Combined of grants that were rejected by panel

    6-Combined of grants accepted by panel.

    Please send this to me as an Excel file where the first column should be the name of the panel. The remaining 6x3 = 18 cols should contain the information requested above for the relevant panel.

    Published: 11 November 2022

  10. FOI2022/00226: Animal Use under ASPA 1986

    Request Received: 8 July 2022

    For 2021, re Animal Use under ASPA 1986

    I note that during the year you were responsible for 169,989 procedures https://www.ukri.org/about-us/mrc/ourpolicies-and-standards/research/research-involving-animals/facts-and-figures/

    1) Please can you tell me the number and species of animals, that were killed without being used for regulated procedures?

    i.e. Additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures last published in 2017 re Article 54 of Directive 2010/63/EU. If this data would exceed the FOIA time/cost limit please can I just have the figures for any specially protected species.

    2) Were any animals rehomed in 2021? If so, please may I have their number and species. Again if this data would exceed the FOIA time/cost limit please can I just have the figures for any specially protected species.

    3) Can you please tell me who are the establishments owned by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and if they each have a separate licence.

    Published: 11 November 2022