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Hiring for top post in UK research had reached advanced stage under Conservatives
The Labour government has announced it is reopening the recruitment process for the next chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, which had reached an advanced stage under the Conservatives.
Following Labour’s election win, and significant choice of former government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance as science minister, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced today that recruitment for the post was being reopened, along with that for the next Innovate UK executive chair.
The successful UKRI applicant will take over from current chief executive, Ottoline Leyser, when she steps down as her five-year term ends in June 2025.
Dsit said in a statement: “The [recruitment] campaign was initially launched earlier this year and has reopened for applications following the election of the new government, which has outlined its priorities for the sector in improving lives across the UK.”
The statement also said the new chief executive “will lead the transformation of UKRI organisationally to form a more responsive, diverse and agile body in how its public investment delivers visible benefits to UK citizens for today and the future”.
Dsit added: “Reforms will mean greater emphasis on using research and development to deliver major government initiatives, such as its five missions, which includes kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower and building an NHS fit for the future.
“It [UKRI] will also play a key role in steering our long-term industrial strategy, removing barriers to growth and building on the UK’s strategic advantage in its fundamental science capability.”
Research Professional News broke the news in January that Leyser, on secondment from her post as Regius professor of botany at the University of Cambridge, would not seek a second term at UKRI and would step down in 2025.
And last month, RPN reported that the Labour government was being tipped to “refresh” its list of candidates for the UKRI job after Vallance’s appointment as minister.
The appointment process for Leyser’s successor was launched in February, leading some to speculate that the Conservative government wanted to choose the next leader of UKRI while it still had the power to do so. Conservative ministers had publicly floated the idea of choosing a business figure for the role.
Interviews for the UKRI and Innovate UK posts were expected to have wrapped up by 31 May.
But when in May then prime minister Rishi Sunak called an election for 4 July, that meant that the appointments would be left to the next government to finalise.
And the Starmer government’s appointment of Vallance, a figure with a wealth of experience in science and R&D across government and industry, appears to have led to the decision to reopen recruitment.
Vallance said in the Dsit statement: “A drive to break new ground will be at the heart of the next UKRI CEO’s role as they take the mantle from Dame Ottoline Leyser next summer, whose leadership I am grateful for.
“Dame Ottoline leaves big shoes to fill, and her help in driving forward our ambitions for science and innovation over the next 10 months will continue to be invaluable.”