This is the first UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) quarterly outcomes and key results report. It provides a progress update on delivering our strategy, bringing together highlights of outcomes achieved through UKRI investments, alongside performance to date against the 2026 to 2027 one-year key results, published with our delivery plan.
This report for quarter 1 (Q1), April 2026 to June 2026, offers a preliminary overview of how UKRI is translating strategic ambitions into measurable outcomes and impact.
Advancing knowledge: Q1 highlights
Quantum experiment opens gravitational waves and dark matter search
A UK quantum sensing breakthrough has moved the UK closer to large-scale quantum detectors and its first large-scale atom interferometer by showing how experimental noise can be cancelled in real-world conditions.
The work is funded through our Quantum Technologies for Fundamental Physics programme, managed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. It forms part of the Atom Interferometer Observatory and Network collaboration and strengthens UK leadership in quantum innovation.
Unlocking £2.4 million in savings through artificial intelligence (AI) powered record review
The UK government has realised £2.2 million in avoided costs and £200,000 in recurring annual savings through the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded LUSTRE project. The project developed responsible AI to transform government record reviews.
The system was created with the Cabinet Office and The National Archives and can assess more than 11 million records per cycle, compared with around 200,000 reviewed manually each year.
Giant wheat starch granules: a big biotech breakthrough
A breakthrough in wheat breeding could enable healthier, slower-digesting foods and create commercial opportunities across various sectors, including:
- food
- pharmaceutical
- paper
- textile
- cosmetics
Research at the John Innes Centre, supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, developed wheat with exceptionally large starch granules by overcoming key biological constraints on starch growth. This development has generated valuable intellectual property (IP) with a raft of potential industrial applications.
Improving lives: Q1 highlights
One-minute cancer treatment transforms care for thousands of patients
Cancer treatment times have been reduced from up to two hours to as little as one minute for tens of thousands of patients across the UK. This is also freeing NHS staff time and increasing clinical capacity.
The breakthrough stems from decades of Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded research in immunology and antibody science. The research led to the development of injectable pembrolizumab (Keytruda), used to treat 14 types of cancer, rather than intravenous infusions that can take much longer to administer.
Creating safer travel routes for teens
The Active Travel Toolkit, supported by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account grant, enables 11 to 18-year-olds to identify barriers to active travel and shapes local council action
Young people in Hartlepool, Leeds and Milton Keynes report feeling safer walking and cycling following practical improvements, such as:
- increased police patrols
- vegetation clearance
- personal safety equipment
Research partnership transforms flood forecasting accuracy
Earlier and more accurate flood warnings are helping to protect communities and businesses along the River Severn by improving forecasting and enabling faster intervention.
Supported by the Natural Environment Research Council through the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the project uses Vodafone’s mobile mast network as virtual rain gauges. This combines highly localised rainfall data with traditional monitoring methods.
Driving growth: Q1 highlights
UKRI backs Midlands Mindforge to make first spin-out investments
Midlands Mindforge, an investment company established by eight research-intensive Midlands universities to commercialise regional academic research, has completed its first round of investments, accelerating business growth and job creation.
Midlands Mindforge is building on vital strategic support from Research England to bring together regional university research strengths and boost the pipeline of investment-ready spinouts. The company will help unlock an initial £30 million of capital for research-based businesses.
£260 million raised in Europe’s largest ever private quantum computing funding round
A record £260 million in private investment, attracted by Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), is accelerating the development of fault-tolerant quantum computing and supporting global expansion.
OQC, now established as one of the world’s best-capitalised private quantum companies, was spun out of the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)-funded Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub. This demonstrates UKRI’s role in enabling competitive deep tech companies to scale globally.
Driving the electric revolution
UK rare earth magnet manufacturing has been restored for the first time in 25 years, strengthening domestic supply chains for electric vehicles and advanced manufacturing while reducing reliance on imports.
Supported by Innovate UK through programmes including Driving the Electric Revolution, CLIMATES and HyProMag, has scaled pioneering magnet recycling technologies and developed a world-leading recycling and manufacturing facility at the University of Birmingham.
Summary key results
Our path towards achieving our five-year ambitions is monitored through 12 high-level summary one-year key results, to be realised by April 2027, against which the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade holds UKRI to account. Key results are specific, measurable outcomes that help us assess progress towards our strategic goals. They do not include everything we do and will be updated annually to incorporate future priorities.
Each one-year key result has a red, amber or green rating (RAG rating) to reflect delivery outlook, at this point in the performance year:
Red: material delivery challenges or slippage has been identified, recovery actions are planned, but achieving the intended outcome may not be possible without additional controls.
Amber: manageable delivery challenges or slippage has been identified, mitigations are in place, and we still expect to realise the intended outcome within existing controls.
Green: limited delivery challenges have been identified, and we expect to achieve the intended outcome.
Objective 1: Q1 delivery progress
Protect and promote basic curiosity-driven research through a long-term sustainable funding model that underpins the UK research environment
Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029
We are continuing to make progress towards REF 2029.
Amber: Over 400 experts across 34 units of assessment participated in the first panel meetings to develop the final guidance on submissions, panel criteria and working methods. Successful, on-time publication of final guidance and criteria for the exercise is contingent on decisions made at follow-up in-person panel meetings, which have all been delivered and completed as of September 2026.
Reform of applicant-led programmes
We are reforming many of our applicant-led programmes to enable intellectual risk-taking and greater responsiveness to opportunities to sustain research excellence.
Green: UKRI is expanding applicant-led funding through refreshed open opportunities, giving researchers greater flexibility to develop proposals. For example, ESRC has launched two pilot schemes under its refreshed applicant-led portfolio with significant interest and will be launching two permanent schemes in October. MRC has also launched a redesigned applicant-led grant funding process, which enhances our ability to support high-risk, high-reward research as part of a balanced portfolio.
Objective 2: Q1 delivery progress
Ensure UKRI’s portfolio is aligned with delivering the government’s priorities, including the five missions and Industrial Strategy
Co-designed priority programmes
We are establishing co-designed priority programmes with clear sectoral outcomes, opportunities for global leadership and approved programme delivery plans.
Amber: Programme directors have been appointed across all priority programmes, with programme boards now established and operating. This marks significant progress in establishing and operationalising a new complex and large-scale portfolio of cross-UKRI programmes. Programme delivery plans continue to mature, providing further confidence that the overall key result remains on track.
Research and Development (R&D) Missions Accelerator Programme
We are investing £500 million through the R&D Missions Accelerator Programme.
Amber: The R&D Missions Accelerator Programme has moved from design into delivery, with funding opportunities now live across multiple missions and new challenges developed in answer to emerging government priorities. These include the Home Learning Environment Challenge and two new Contracts for Innovation calls, designed to support research that improves outcomes for children and young people. Delivery mechanisms are now established and the programme’s £500 million budget has been fully allocated.
Objective 3: Q1 delivery progress
Provide targeted innovation, commercialisation and scale-up support across the UK to drive economic growth
Velocity approach to growth sector support
We are delivering a tailored, concierge-style Velocity approach to growth sector support, providing data driven account management aligned to company maturity and accelerating commercialisation.
Amber: We established Innovate UK’s new ‘Innovation as a Service’ unit, bringing together 31 programmes with a combined 2026 to 2027 budget of around £1 billion. We successfully piloted a redesigned simplified application process, delivering high levels of satisfaction (82% positive), with 70% of returning applicants reporting an improvement on the existing application form. A high-level design for the approach has now been agreed, and the main risks to delivery now focus on operationalising the new platform and delivering the appropriate level of testing to provide confidence.
Research translation and commercialisation
We are simplifying our research translation and commercialisation portfolio via a more consistent nomenclature.
Amber: We have launched remit-specific funding opportunities, including: Advanced Connectivity Technologies Proof of Concept, a new round of EPSRC Prosperity Partnerships, and the second round of UKRI’s discipline-agnostic Proof of Concept funding opportunity, with planned investment increasing from £9 to £14 million following strong demand. We are also developing and testing a framework to identify promising spinouts emerging from UKRI-supported research and innovation, which will require further data collection awaiting agreement across UKRI.
Anchor UKRI-generated IP exploitation in the UK
We are anchoring IP exploitation and economic value from public investment in research and innovation in the UK by refreshing UKRI’s IP policies.
Amber: We are engaging with key stakeholders including founders, businesses, investors and higher education providers, to gather feedback on proposed updates to UKRI’s IP policies and procedures.
Objective 4: Q1 delivery progress
Deliver local impact and enhance national and international collaboration, security and resilience
Local Innovation Partnership Fund (LIPF)
We are establishing programmes with 17 places through our LIPF.
Amber: We continued to make strong progress in delivering the LIPF. Thirty-eight projects have now passed quality assurance by an independent expert panel, with seven awards fully authorised. We are engaging closely with places and projects on the significant number of proposals still progressing through quality assurance and pre-award due diligence checks. However, we remain confident that all awards will be live by the end of the financial year.
Horizon Europe
We are aiming to strengthen UK international research and innovation (R&I) leadership and partnerships by increasing the UK’s funding share of Horizon Europe.
Amber: UK participation in Horizon Europe is increasing with association, with the UK funding share increasing from 5.8% in work programme 2023 to 9.3% in 2024. In Q1 we delivered four brokerage visits and two Reapply Masterclasses to 96 attendees to boost UK participation in the current work programme. This included enabling a cross-sectoral UK delegation to attend the New European Bauhaus Festival in Brussels.
Objective 5: Q1 delivery progress
Develop and sustain an R&D ecosystem that supports national science capability and attracts and nurtures the best R&I talent
National digital research capability
We are enhancing cross-disciplinary access to national digital research capability aligned with government priorities.
Green: Commissioning of the four new National Compute Resources services is on track, with most services expected to onboard users in quarter 2 (Q2) and quarter (Q3).
Studentships
We are supporting 5,000 new doctoral studentships.
Amber: At the end of Q1 there were 37 studentship starts in our new student portal (as of 7 July 2026, 0.74% of the target). This aligns with expectations and the seasonal nature of student start profiles, with 1% expected in Q1, 10% in Q2 and 90% in Q3.
Cutting UKRI Funding Service processing times
We are reducing processing times for research through the Funding Service to a median of 180 days for applicant-led investments and 120 days for targeted investments.
Amber: At the end of Q1 we remain on track to achieve the median processing time targets for applicant-led and targeted investments. However, current processing times (as at the end of June) are above target for targeted investments (43 days above target) and applicant-led investments (12 days above target). This is due to extended processing times for selected funding opportunities.