Government Science Minister Jo Johnson today has confirmed that John Kingman will be appointed as Chair of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on an interim basis, to set up the new organisation in shadow form.

As second permanent secretary to the HM Treasury, Kingman was at the helm of the HM Treasury during successive administrations that prioritised investment in science and innovation. He was responsible for 5 science spending reviews. As announced in April 2016, he will leave the HM Treasury in July 2016.

Announced on Monday in the government’s higher education and research white paper Success as a Knowledge Economy, UKRI will be established as a single, strategic body that will bring together the 7 Research Councils, Innovate UK and the research funding from Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

With a combined budget of more than £6 billion, the Government said that UKRI will be a major voice for UK research and innovation in the UK and globally.

As part of his role, John Kingman will provide advice to ministers on the competition to quickly recruit a leading scientist to take the reins as UKRI Chief Executive and will work closely with the existing leaders of the Research Councils, Innovate UK and HEFCE.

Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said:

“I am delighted that John has agreed to take on this role. As someone who has overseen 5 spending reviews which prioritised science, John is uniquely placed to set up this new organisation and understand how best to maximise the value of our investment in research and innovation for the economy and society.”

“John will now be working closely with the research and innovation communities to shape the new organisation and oversee a competition to recruit a leading scientist as the first chief executive.”

According to the Government, the formation of UKRI will ensure the UK can lead the world in multi- and inter-disciplinary research and also provide a more strategic approach to addressing major global research and innovation challenges.

UKRI will also take on responsibility for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) working with the devolved administrations to deliver a UK-wide assessment of university research performance, and the associated university “block grant” for English universities - both currently managed by HEFCE.

The government asked Nobel Prize winning scientist Sir Paul Nurse to lead a review of the UK’s research landscape last year. In his report, published in November 2015, Sir Paul called on government to ‘support the Research Councils to collectively make up more than the sum of their parts’, and develop a ‘smoother pathway to more applied research’.

Lord Nicholas Stern, President of the British Academy commented:

“The proposed new organisation UK Research and Innovation will bring coherence and energy to research in the UK and is to be warmly welcomed. It can bring real traction to future research excellence frameworks (REFs). John Kingman will be a first class chair as it begins its work.”