UPEN submits joint written evidence on Investment in Research Infrastructure

UPEN’s evidence to the UK Parliament’s inquiry on Investment in Research Infrastructure is now publicly available on the UK Parliament website.  

UPEN submitted joint written evidence to the UK Parliament’s inquiry on Investment in Research Infrastructure, alongside Vitae, Hidden REF, Software Sustainability Institute (SSI), Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy (ITSS), National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE), National Council for the Public Engagement of Engineering (NCPPE), National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN), and UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE).

Our collective submission calls for a whole-system approach that recognises the critical role of ‘soft infrastructure,’ from skilled staff and organisational capability to culture, coordination, and data, in delivering impact.

Key messages from the submission: 

• The UK’s current investment model over-emphasises capital assets and under-invests in the workforce, skills, culture, and organisational systems that unlock value
• This creates value-for-money risk: under-utilised facilities, inefficiencies, and missed economic and societal benefits
• Workforce precarity and skills gaps are already limiting effective use of infrastructure; without investing in the people who design, run, and support these systems, we risk losing talent and weakening returns
• A whole-system, lifecycle approach is needed: funding skills; support; maintenance; and effective use alongside capital, with stable, longer-term support where it is most needed
• Decision-makers (HM Treasury, DSIT, UKRI) should integrate workforce capability, lifecycle costs, and system readiness into appraisal, and address incentives and data gaps that currently discourage collaboration, data sharing, and optimal utilisation. 

Chris Hewson, UPEN Co-Chair and Programmes Co-Director (Business Development and Partnerships)  comments: “The UK risks undermining the value of its world-class research infrastructure by focusing too narrowly on buildings and equipment. Our evidence shows that a key determinant of research impact is ‘soft infrastructure’—the people, skills, systems and networks that enable our tangible assets to be used effectively. Without sustained investment in these capabilities, infrastructure will remain underutilised and fall short of delivering its full economic and societal benefits.” 

The joint evidence is now live on the UK Parliament website.