Leaving The European Union, The UK Budgets IDR 289 Trillion For Science And Technology Research

Ilustrasi penelitian. (Wikimedia Commons / Museum for Hamburg History)

JAKARTA - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would lead a new effort to capitalize on the scientific and technological breakthroughs made in the UK, with a program to direct research into areas that would benefit the public interest.

"UK PM Johnson will lead a group formed to provide strategic direction on using science and technology as a tool to tackle major social challenges, raise levels across the country and increase prosperity around the world", said PM Johnson's office.

Seeking a strategic advantage for the UK post-Brexit, this plan builds on the success of developers of a coronavirus vaccine program, to identify other areas of the research and development sector, where benefits could be derived from government funding.

"From discovery to delivery, our vaccination program has proven what the UK can achieve at scale and speed", said UK PM Boris Johnson in a statement.

"With the right direction, steps, and support, we can bring to life more scientific and technological breakthroughs that are changing the lives of people in the UK and the world".

Meanwhile, the UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance will head the new public body whose role will be to implement the strategy.

Beyond COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, the UK wants to use its research capabilities to secure some of the economic benefits of the shift towards greener technology, despite intense competition from other countries.

The majority of research and development spending in the UK is funded by the private sector, and overall investment in 2018 was 1.731 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data, below the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 2.419 percent.

Since leaving the European Union, the UK Government has announced plans to increase its research and development spending by billions of pounds.

The UK is known to plan to invest 14.9 billion pounds or 20.58 billion United States (US), approximately IDR 289.406.000.000.000 in 2021/2022 for research and development.

This investment will increase to USD 22 billion or approximately IDR 318.346.600.000.000 by 2024/25 and has committed to increasing total research and development investment to 2.4 percent of economic output by 2027.