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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1,363 disclosures

  1. FOI2025/00978: DEFRA Project VM02117 2001-2003

    Request received: 2 November 2025

    Please can you provide me with the follow up findings mentioned in the final report of DEFRA project VM02117 2001-2003 ‘Characterisation of non- acetylcholinesterase actions of OPs by identification of novel protein targets - VM02117’ ‘Contractor / Funded Organisations Medical Research Council’,

    1. as shown in the final report, namely the OP targets identified and their and relevance to human health - ‘Further work Assuming that there are no further hold ups, in the next six months the OP targets in the brain will be identified by mass spectrometric analysis and then fully characterised and their relevance to human health ascertained.’

    2. In addition, please can you advise what further work has been conducted in relation to this statement and provide me with the findings of any further studies:

    ‘Conclusions This study has confirmed our original hypothesis: that there are previously unrecognised proteins present in the brain that are adducted by organophosphates to which humans are currently exposed at dose levels which are low enough not to induce warning cholinergic signs. Furthermore, we have shown that, of the six organophosphates tested, each adducts a different spectrum of target proteins. Just one of them (chlorpyrifos) reacted only with the conventional target, acetylcholinesterase. This variability across structures has one important consequence: if the non-cholinesterase mediated actions of organophosphates are mediated by these proteins, then organophosphates must be assessed on a compound by compound basis - not as a homogenous class.’

    Internal review request received: 19 February 2026

    Published: 21 April 2026

  2. FOI2026/00224 - Assessment Panel Membership and Conflicts of Interest for the £25m Translational Models Hub

    Request received: 14/03/2026

    I am writing to request information regarding the assessment and decision-making process for the Pre-clinical Translational Models Hub (MC_PC_2603), which is part of the government’s 2025/2026 "Replacing Animals in Science" funding commitment.

    To ensure transparency regarding the "experiential confidence" and potential institutional bias of the assessors, please provide:

    The names and host research organisations of all individuals appointed to the Assessment Panel (including the Chair and any "Introducing Members") for the MC_PC_2603 opportunity.

    The number of these panel members who currently hold a Home Office Project License (PPL) or act as the Establishment License Holder (PEL) at their respective institutions.

    Any Conflict of Interest declarations submitted by these panel members specifically relating to their institution’s reliance on animal-testing infrastructure or "Golden Triangle" collaborative frameworks.

    The criteria provided to the panel for weighing the "validation" of human-relevant models (NAMs) against legacy animal-based benchmarks, particularly where the assessors have a career history primarily based on in vivo research.

    Confirmation of whether any representatives from the NC3Rs or human-relevant technology biotechs are voting members of this specific panel.

    Published: 15 April 2026

  3. FOI2026/00223 - Expenditure and Allocation of the £60m Replacing Animals in Science’ Funding

    Request received: 14/03/2026

    I am writing to request information regarding the allocation and expenditure of the £60 million in new funding committed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as part of the November 2025 strategy, “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods.”

    Specifically, please provide:

    A breakdown of the £30 million allocated for the Preclinical Translational Models Hub. Please list any universities, private companies, or consortia that have been awarded funding or contracts to date to establish this hub.

    A breakdown of the £30 million allocated for the UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM). Please state the physical location(s) chosen for this centre and the lead institutions involved.

    The total number and value of "Validation Accelerator" grants awarded to date (2025–2026), including the names of the recipient institutions.

    A list of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) the department has established to monitor the "phase-out" progress, which the strategy committed to publishing in 2026.

    Confirmation of whether any of this £60m funding has been awarded to institutions that do not currently hold a Home Office Establishment License.

    Published: 15 April 2026

  4. FOI2026/00061: Accessibility support expenditure for Innovate UK

    Request received: 27 January 2026

    I’ve checked your previous information release database and I can’t find anything, but can you tell me whether an FOI request has already been made, for how much Innovate UK spends per annum on supporting disabled applicants apply for Innovate UK funding? I used keywords ‘Accessibility’ and ‘Access’ and ‘Access Support’.

    If not, can I please make a request for the following:

    • What the annual budget/expenditure is, for Innovate UK, to support disabled applicants to apply for Innovate UK funding, due to your online application process not being accessible to all.

    • Annual spend in 2024 or 2025.

    Published: 13 April 2026

  5. FOI2026/00090: Full Tender Specification and Contract Terms for AI Skills Hub

    Request Received: 5 February 2026

    My request relates to the following contract award

    Please provide the following documents:

    a) All documents provided to potential bidders on this contract including

    • the proposed contract terms and

    • the scoring matrix to be used for bidders

    If the competition was run through a framework or a DPS please provide copies of both the call-off specification and the framework agreement that the competition was run under.

    b) The contract terms that were agreed with the winning supplier

    Published: 7 April 2026

  6. FOI2026/00046: Innovate UK Grant Data 2022-2025

    Request received: 22nd January 2026

    By application deadline date, for the each of the calendar years 2022; 2023; 2024; and 2025 can I please request: 
     
    1) The total amount (monetary value) of Innovate UK funding awarded through a competitive application process (ie. the awared through applications submitted on IFS or equivalent awards - ie. to specific individual projects (rather than budget within UKRI directly allocated to IUK Buiness Connect funding / Catapults etc). 
     
    2) The total number of competitions this was awarded through. 
     
    4) The average success rate of all competitions 
     
    3) The total number of competitions which were "invite-only" ie. had eligibility criteria such must have been invited to this competition, or soft eligibility criteria such as "We are not funding projects that: have not been invited by Innovate UK into this competition" - typically these are not advertised on the apply for funding IFS page, but are sent as individual links to the eligibale applicants. 
     
    4) The budget / total amount awarded to these "invite-only" competitions, and the average success rate for these competitions. 
     
    5) The budget / total amount awarded to the subset of competitions which were NOT invite-only (as defined in 3) and the average success rate for this (5) subset of competitions.

    Published: 1 April 2026

  7. FOI2026/00180: UKRI-1576 Employee Engagement Surveys contract

    Request received: 3rd March 2026

    Details in respect to the contract below.

    https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/79a48839-4729-4331-8a46-6ac3030b49a3

    The details we require are:

    What are the contractual performance KPI's for this contract?

    Actual spend on this contract/framework (and any sub lots), from the start of the contract to the current date

    Start date & duration of framework/contract?

    Could you please provide a copy of the service/product specification given to all bidders for when this contract was last advertised?

    Is there an extension clause in the framework(s)/contract(s) and, if so, the duration of the extension?

    Has a decision been made yet on whether the framework(s)/contract(s) are being either extended or renewed?

    Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract?

    Would the senior officer be open to a brief discussion on how their current people strategy / approach to employee engagement is going?

    Published: 30 March 2026

  8. FOI2025/01070: EPSRC CDT Contractual Framework

    Request received: 02 December 2025

    I would like to request copies of the following documents relating to the EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Digital Media Inclusion, led by the University of Surrey and delivered jointly with Royal Holloway, University of London.

     

    1.     The full grant agreement (including all schedules and annexes) between UKRI/EPSRC and the University of Surrey for this CDT.

     

    2.     Any formal collaboration agreement, conditions of award, or memorandum of understanding that govern the relationship between UKRI and the University of Surrey for this CDT.

     

    3.     Any subsequent grant variations, amendments, or change notices issued by UKRI to the University of Surrey for this CDT.

     

    4.     Any governance requirements, programme expectations, or delivery conditions that UKRI has provided to the University of Surrey regarding this CDT.

    I am requesting these documents to better understand the structure, governance, and contractual expectations of the CDT programme.

    Published: 30 March 2026

  9. FOI2026/00025: EPSRC grant EP/Y022157/1

    Request received: 11th January 2026

     I would like to place a Freedom of Information (FOI) request regarding the following awarded EPSRC grant: 
    EPSRC Reference: EP/Y022157/1 
    Project title: Towards compact and efficient nuclear reactors 
    Lead Research Organisation: University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering 
    Funding period: Jun 24 - Jun 27 
    Project status: active 
     
    The information I am interested in is as follows: 
    • project spending totals and breakdown 
    • project milestone progress and status 
    • project outputs, e.g. conference talks, journal publications 
    • project learning outcomes 
    • time spent by the Principal Investigator on the project 
     
    I would like this information to be provided in the form of the regular update reports on research grant use that the University keeps and/or UKRI receive. I understand that any sensitive information will be excluded/redacted from these reports. 


    The requester later clarified on 23rd January 2026: 

    'Project learning outcomes' refers to: 

    Progress towards reduction of AC loss in high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes 

    Examples of progress would include learnings from manufacture and performance testing of such novel tapes 

    Since the project was initiated ~18 months ago, what has been learned regarding development of these novel tapes? Have steps been taken towards manufacture of a prototype tape for subsequent AC loss reduction verification tests? 

    In summary: what manufacturing stages and testing methods on a novel, reduced AC loss tape (NOT including study of standard commercial HTS tapes) have been conducted/completed during the project lifetime to date? 

    'Regular update reports' refers to: 

    Standard project management controls, whereby the funder and departmental management are regularly informed of project progress 

    Again, this information is requested for the duration of the project lifetime to date. 

    Published: 30 March 2026

  10. FOI2026/00162: NERC Senior Leadership Training Framework

    Request received: 26th February 2026

    Could you kindly provide information regarding the organisational training framework in place for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) between 2019 and July 2022?

    Specifically, I am interested in the following:

    Was specific 'Neurodiversity Training' (distinct from generic EDI e-learning) mandatory or voluntary for senior leadership staff operating at the C-level (or equivalent executive board level)?

    If such specific neurodiversity training existed for this tier of management, please could you provide: a) The course title(s). b) The provider (whether developed internally or commissioned via an external specialist). c) A brief copy of the course syllabus, summary, or learning objectives.

    What was the statistical completion rate for this specific neurodiversity training module among staff at the C-level within NERC during this period?

    Please note, I am not requesting the personal training record of any specific individual, which I appreciate would be exempt under Section 40(2) of the Act. This request strictly concerns the organisational training policies, availability, and anonymised completion statistics for that specific management grade.

    Published: 26 March 2026