Focused Research Organisations: Building a Resilient, Mission-Driven R&D Ecosystem
Published: 12 December 2025
Could novel research organisations help the UK deliver more ambitious science? A new research project led by Gemma Milne is exploring whether a new kind of research institution, the Focused Research Organisation (FRO), could strengthen the UK’s capacity for mission-driven innovation. In partnership with Convergent UK, the project aims to provide evidence and insights to inform future R&D policy and funding strategies.
Rethinking How Big Science Gets Done
Focused Research Organisations are non-profit research bodies designed to fill a structural gap in the innovation landscape. Positioned between academic labs, startups and industry R&D, FROs are created to tackle ambitious, high-risk scientific goals that don’t fit traditional models.
FROs are typically:
- mission-led and time-bound (5 years on average),
- focused on achieving clearly defined, quantifiable technical milestones,
- designed to create public goods, such as open data or spinouts.
While the FRO model has taken hold in the US, with organisations like Convergent Research and Arc Institute, its development in the UK is just beginning. Early support from funders like ARIA and DSIT signals growing interest, but key questions remain around policy, regulation, and infrastructure.
Investigating the UK's First FRO Cohort
This project will study the launch of Convergent UK’s first FRO incubation and launch programme, the first of its kind in the UK. Through interviews, document analysis and close collaboration with Convergent UK, the research will examine how these early-stage organisations take shape and how UK-specific factors support or hinder their development.
A central focus will be on the role of UKRI and Innovate UK. In particular, the project will investigate how current organisational eligibility rules may need to evolve to support the growth of alternative R&D structures like FROs.
Shaping the Future of Research Policy
By surfacing the dynamics of this emerging model, the project aims to inform strategic conversations across government, funders, and the wider R&D community. Its outputs will include evidence-based recommendations for supporting more diverse, resilient research organisations in the UK.
The goal is to catalyse innovation system change, ensuring that bold, entrepreneurial science isn’t held back by outdated institutional norms.
For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 12 December 2025
