Advanced Research and Invention Agency
| Non-departmental public body overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 26 January 2023; 2 years ago (26 January 2023) |
| Employees | 53 (FY2024/25)[1] |
| Annual budget | 27ドル.6 million (FY2024/25)[1] |
| Ministers responsible | |
| Non-departmental public body executives |
|
| Parent department | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology |
| Website | www |
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency, or ARIA, is a research funding agency of the UK government, sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
With a similar remit to that of its US equivalent, DARPA, ARIA is intended fund "high-risk, high-reward" research.[2] [3]
History
[edit ]The formation of ARIA was announced on 19 February 2021 and it was formally established on 26 January 2023.[4] [5] [6]
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency Act 2022 created the legislative framework for the agency and it was formally established as an independent research body in January 2023.[7] Parliament established ARIA in statute and set a ten-year legal mandate. The law directs the agency to fund research that is risky, uncertain and speculative in nature. The government provided 800ドル million for its first five years and allocated a further 184ドル million for 2025–26.[8]
In 2022 Dominic Cummings suggested that ARIA should act as "moonshot" programme akin to the United States' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Organisationally, it will be small, independent of UKRI (the main UK government funding body), with autonomy to operate at speed innovate funding, (for instance with X-Prize type inducements around research goals), rapid "seed" funding, with successful seeds entering a much smaller tier of large-grants, and bonuses for accomplishing research goals.[9] The agency avoids DARPA's connection to military research.[10]
ARIA is designed to operate with a large degree of autonomy and is exempt from Freedom of Information requests. In March 2021 Labour Party Member of Parliament Dawn Butler said this would "raise alarm bells" about how taxpayer money is spent, in light of a scandal over how the UK government procured PPE contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kwasi Kwarteng, who was Business Secretary at the time, insisted the "corporate governance arrangements are very robust" and that MPs would be able to scrutinise the agency's accounts.[11]
On 20 July 2022, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced that ARIA's first CEO would be Ilan Gur and its first Chair would be Matt Clifford.[12] In early 2023, it was announced that Nobel prize-winning organic chemist Chemistry Sir David MacMillan and Dame Kate Bingham entrepreneur who headed the successful Vaccine Taskforce, would join the board, advancing the high-risk/high-reward research agenda.[13]
Climate engineering research
[edit ]In April 2025 it was reported that ARIA would fund a 50ドル million programme of small-scale outdoor geoengineering experiments. The agency stated that the experiments would be rigorously assessed and were intended to generate data on the feasibility and risks of Solar radiation modification (SRM) technologies. These methods seek to reflect a portion of incoming sunlight, for example through the injection of reflective particles into the atmosphere or by increasing the reflectivity of clouds.[14]
The programme was announced alongside an 11ドル million initiative, making the United Kingdom one of the largest funders of geoengineering research. ARIA's work is led by Professor Mark Symes.[14]
The research has drawn criticism from some scientists, who warned of potential unintended consequences such as disrupted rainfall patterns.[14]
See also
[edit ]- UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
References
[edit ]- ^ a b "Advanced Research and Invention Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2024–25". GOV.UK. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
- ^ "UK to launch 'high risk' science agency". BBC News. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "'Licence to fail': 800ドルm for new scientific agency that will focus on high-risk, high-reward projects". Sky News. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "UK to launch 800ドルm science research agency". Financial Times. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "UK to launch new research agency to support high risk, high reward science". GOV.UK. UK Government. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ Swinford, Steven. "Secrecy for high-risk tech research agency Aria". The Times . ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ Cookson, Clive (26 August 2023). "Taking 'bold' bets: new UK agency prepares to fund breakthrough technologies". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ Prescott, Katie (26 May 2025). "Inside Aria, the gamble that could make the UK rich or go nowhere". The Times . Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA): policy statement". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Gaind, Nisha (13 September 2024). "The UK's 1ドル-billion bet to create technologies that change the world". Nature . Retrieved 22 September 2024.
- ^ "Health department was 'smoking ruin' on Covid - Cummings". BBC News. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Innovation heavyweights appointed to lead new Advanced Research and Invention Agency". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Nobelist and ex-vaccines chief join newly established Aria". Times Higher Education (THE). 27 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ a b c Carrington, Damian (22 April 2025). "UK scientists to launch outdoor geoengineering experiments". The Guardian . Retrieved 30 September 2025.
External links
[edit ]- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- Funding bodies in the United Kingdom
- Higher education organisations based in the United Kingdom
- Research funding agencies
- Research and development in the United Kingdom
- Innovation in the United Kingdom
- Public bodies and task forces of the United Kingdom government
- Advanced Research and Invention Agency
- Science policy in the United Kingdom
- 2023 establishments in the United Kingdom