In our opening seminar for 2021, we are pleased to welcome three speakers for a roundtable discussion around proposals to create a UK version of the Advanced Research Projects Agency and the wider implications of this for UK research and development (R&D) funding.

The idea of a UK-style ARPA gained traction in recent years during Dominic Cummings' tenure as senior advisor for the British government, which was - alongside civil service reform and Brexit - one of his top priorities. While there are question marks since his departure in December 2020, the UK government has set aside funding for it in its most recent Spending Review.

In this seminar, we consider these proposals and their future, including:

• What are the potential benefits of creating a UK-style ARPA?
• What are the potential pitfalls and dangers for such an organisation?
• How would such an organisation be funded and constituted?
• What is the possible impact of a UK-style ARPA on wider R&D and research funding?
• What are the wider implications for understanding the relationship between science and policy?

This seminar will be chaired and introduced by our Co-Director, Professor Steve Yearley, alongside our panel that includes:

• Joyce Tait (University of Edinburgh and Co-Director, Innogen Institute)
• Emma Salisbury (Birkbeck, University of London)
• James Wilsdon (University of Sheffield and Co-Director, Research on Research Institute)

The seminar will take place online via Zoom (for link details, please email the Co-Directors - if you are already a member/associate member of SKAPE, then you will receive a Zoom link two days before the start of the event).