An interest in a certain way of addressing the gap. High quality M&E and data analysis on government programmes can inform many of the questions listed above. Another complimentary form of evidence comes from conducting live controlled experiments on the funding system.
Background
SRID evidence aims to ensure that DSIT’s significant RDI budget is invested effectively and that we understand its impact and value for money. The Science, Technology and Innovation Analysis Team (STIA), the analytical team supporting SRID, develop the evidence base via internal analysis, cross-Whitehall collaboration and externally commissioned research projects. STIA work closely with other analytical teams in DSIT and DSIT’s partner organisations.
STIA continuously work to improve our approach and methods of valuing RDI investment to fully showcase and evidence its value to the UK. We are also interested in developing new real-time performance monitoring tools to allow for more agile decision-making and significantly improve our Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) capabilities. Improving our methodology for measuring economic, social and research benefits of RDI is also our priority.
SRID and STIA want to develop a stronger evidence base of the foundations of the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) system including how to: 1) grow the RDI workforce by improving the domestic pipeline, attracting and retaining the most talented RDI workers and supporting diverse, dynamic and creative careers 2) develop strong and sustainable RDI institutions that foster innovation 3) identify and capitalise on RDI clusters in the UK to support the levelling up agenda.
We also aim to develop a better understanding of how RDI policy can best drive economic growth, better jobs and discoveries. We aim to do this through identifying the best methods for measuring adoption and diffusion of innovation as well as drivers and barriers to innovation to create conditions for an increased investment in innovation.
This is less a particular evidence gap and more an interest in a certain way of addressing the gap. High quality M&E and data analysis on government programmes can inform many of the questions listed above. Another complimentary form of evidence comes from conducting live controlled experiments on the funding system. We are interested in a broad set of topics and methods termed ‘metascience’, the application of scientific methods (including live controlled experimentation) to the social practice of science itself. To support this, government is creating a new metascience unit. The unit will be jointly run across DSIT and UKRI, with an initial funding commitment of £10 million. The unit will deliver a competitive grant programme funding academic research into a broad range of topics relating to research productivity and integrity; and will also conduct experiments to test and robustly evaluate the effectiveness of changes in the funding processes delivered by UKRI.
Next steps
If you are keen to register your interest in working and connecting with DSIT Science, Innovation, and Research Directorate, and/or submitting evidence, then please complete the DSIT-ARI Evidence survey - https://dsit.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cDfmK2OukVAnirs
Link to ARIs : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-science-innovation-and-technology-areas-of-research-interest/dsit-areas-of-research-interest-2024
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