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The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) has helped develop an innovative funding method for the Research Ventures Catalyst (RVC), a novel pilot programme delivered by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Under this new funding model, research institutions can apply to receive funding through an endowment, allowing increased flexibility which better reflects the needs of certain research projects.
GAD’s role
GAD’s main role was to assist with how endowments could be evaluated in terms of providing value for money. GAD also assisted on the governance measures required to ensure there is demonstrable quality of financial management over the life of the research project.
The Science & Technology Secretary announced the RVC on 11 February 2025 at the Paris Artificial Intelligence Summit. Since then, DSIT has already delivered one endowment to a new research organisation, worth over £12 million, and has signed 2 further grant agreements, ready to start delivery.
Input and support
To date, endowments have not typically been used in government research and development funding. The RVC was an opportunity to test a novel approach to funding research that provides longer term stable funding, along with greater independence and flexibility to the new types of organisations DSIT was seeking to fund.
The RVC required innovation and pushing the boundaries throughout, and could not have come to fruition without input, guidance and support from across government. In particular, GAD assisted in providing subject matter expertise to support the DSIT policy team.
The RVC has been a deliberately innovative project, therefore involving an intricate approvals process. GAD’s expertise and advice formed a crucial part in assisting with designing the investment strategy requirements and guidance, as well as subsequently reviewing the submissions.
Investment Lead Chris Ward, who ran the project in GAD, said “The teams at DSIT and GAD have enjoyed the challenge of working on what is undoubtedly a novel programme and a true example of bringing innovation into government.”
