UKRI announces budget of £8.76 billion for 2025-2026

UK's Research and Innovation (UKRI) has unveiled a budget of £8.761 billion (€10bn) for 2025-2026, down from £8.9bn in 2024-2025.

UKRI explained the difference by the exclusion of the £50 million managed AI Research Resource programme, as the final delivery partner is still to be confirmed and not by a "reduction in overall UKRI core budget".

In the announcement on 25/11/2025, UKRI also updated its corporate plan for 2025 to 2027 "to respond to new UKRI objectives and government priorities agreed with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to maximise outcomes from public investment".

The new plan aims to "reinforce our commitment to strategically directing public investment to drive innovation-led growth, catalysing the full innovation cycle from discovery to business growth and public service improvement". Goals include to "further strengthen partnerships across sectors and places to align investment and leverage UK R&I strengths, infrastructure, facilities and estates" and "strengthen our role as a key partner with the government in accelerating pathways to…