UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has appointed digital agency Worth Internet Systems as its development partner in building a new digital funding service.
They have signed a two-year contract as part of a longer term digital transformation programme to harmonise the funding process for the nine research councils within UKRI. This is aimed at streamlining processes for applicants, assessors and administrator in the roll out of up to £8 billion of funding per year.
Worth has been working with government grant providers Innovate UK and Eureka over the past seven years.
Anne Sofield, director of the Simpler and Better Funding programme at UKRI, said: “We’re looking to make a real difference to our users, and our colleagues at Worth play a critical role in ensuring the voices of researchers and innovators, administrators and our staff are heard. User feedback will be the true test of whether we have succeeded, and Worth have a great track record in research and design to help us achieve this.”
One of the core elements of the programme is a funding service based on a new digital platform to make it easier for applicants to collaborate with others, make submissions and obtain guidance.
A pilot was launched in summer of last year, and UKRI is aiming to extends its scope to replace all existing grant systems, including the Joint Electronic Submission system.
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