How we work
Our research model
We believe people drive innovation.Their creativity and intrinsic motivation are the biggest assets we have. We seek out exceptional scientists and engineers with the curiosity to explore uncharted territory, then empower them with the resources and autonomy to turn their ideas into reality. This begins with our Programme Directors, who are tasked with:
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Defining an opportunity space Our Programme Directors (PDs) first define an opportunity space – an area we believe is likely to yield breakthroughs. An ARIA opportunity space must be highly consequential for society, under-explored relative to its potential impact, and ripe for new talent, perspectives, or resources to change what’s possible. |
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Designing and directing ambitious R&D programmes Within that space, PDs build multi-year R&D programmes designed to advance complex, large-scale ideas that require coordinated investment and management across disciplines and institutions. Each PD directs the review, selection, and funding of a portfolio of projects to advance the programme's goals. |
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Awarding seed funding Outside of programmes, PDs award seed funding to individuals or teams pursuing research aligned with their opportunity space. With smaller budgets and less structure than programmes, seeds support researchers to uncover new pathways that might otherwise fall through the cracks. |
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Activation Partners catalyse translation Activation Partners inject entrepreneurial talent, capital, and ideas to help propel our research – and the UK – to impact. |
We fund differently to change what’s possible.
We do our best to maximise the chance of breakthroughs by aligning the research we fund with viable paths to deployment and minimising barriers to scale. This means:
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We fund the best ideas and talent, across professional backgrounds, types of organisations and geographies
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We do not retain IP rights to the work we fund
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We generally do not require match funding
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We do not take any equity ourselves and place a cap on the equity that organisations we fund can hold in spinouts commercialising ARIA-funded IP
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We take an active role in managing projects and foster connectivity between them
“Our funding terms are designed to encourage inventor-led start-ups and provide a stimulus for science entrepreneurship in the UK.”