BBC: Earlier this year, the British government established UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to oversee the nine organizations that manage the country's £6 billion ($8 billion) of annual research funding. Former permanent secretary of the Treasury John Kingman was appointed its head. In the wake of the Brexit vote and the impending loss of about £850 million yearly in research funding from the European Union, Kingman says that he wants to strengthen the connections between the UK research funding organizations. At the same time, he says he does not want to undermine the strengths of those organizations, including their close connections with researchers. He says that the UKRI will provide a broad perspective that helps to unite the organizations in their funding goals.
