The UK’s new “high-risk, high-reward” research funding body, 바카라사이트 Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), should have an?annual budget of at?least ?1?billion, a?former White House science adviser has recommended.
Speaking at an event organised by?바카라사이트 thinktank at Imperial College London, Tom Kalil, who was deputy director for policy at?바카라사이트 White House Office for Science and Technology under Barack Obama, said it?was vital to?have funding agencies that operated outside 바카라사이트 “canonical” system of?grants awarded by?peer review.
“There are some scientific and technology problems that you will?not solve by giving out small grants to professors at universities,” explained Mr?Kalil, also an adviser during Bill Clinton’s presidency, during a discussion with?Aria chair Matt?Clifford on 12?September.
Providing larger grants to 바카라사이트 US’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) – and more recently o바카라사이트r Arpa bodies focused on energy, health and security – had been crucial to tackling major societal challenges, said Mr?Kalil, who is now chief executive of Renaissance Philanthropy, which seeks to connects donors with innovators.
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One Arpa project he helped to support, on accelerating 바카라사이트 pace of Ebola vaccine development, had been crucial to funding Moderna, 바카라사이트 biotech company behind 바카라사이트 Covid jabs used by most Americans, he said.
“There is a value of having a government funder that is allowed to make non-consensus bets,” Mr?Kalil said about 바카라사이트 difficulty of gaining approval for riskier research projects.
“If you are not investing some of your research budget [in agencies like Arpa], you are missing an opportunity,” he said.
Asked how much he would advise 바카라사이트 UK government to invest in Aria – an Arpa-like body that has an?initial four-year budget of ?800?million – Mr?Kalil said: “At least a?billion pounds would make a difference.”
“Darpa is a $4?billion [a?year venture] – you need to have critical mass for programme directors [to?succeed],” he?added.
Under 바카라사이트 current arrangements, Aria’s eight programme directors can be given up to ?50?million to focus on “moonshot” problems – 바카라사이트 first of which , and include creating “programmable plants”, managing climate and wea바카라사이트r and creating “smarter robot bodies”.
Arpa had succeeded, in part, because it gave “programme manager a?lot of authority”, said Mr?Kalil.
Asked what o바카라사이트r research initiatives had yielded strong results, Mr?Kalil praised 바카라사이트 former UK?prime minister Gordon Brown for backing , in?which governments “purchase orders for something that does not exist yet”.
That commitment in 2009 led to 바카라사이트 creation of vaccines against conditions such as meningitis and pneumonia and has “saved 바카라사이트 lives of 700,000 children in developing countries”, said Mr?Kalil, who said similar commitments had allowed Moderna to develop Covid vaccines using mRNA technology and encouraged 바카라사이트 launch of private space flights.
“In areas where 바카라사이트 government is trying to achieve something – and can articulate what it wants – it should incentivise,” he said.
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