The government has announced £5.5m of funding to support projects that will be streamlined by the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) to cut bureaucracy.
The RIO, headed by David Willetts, was set up by the government to cut red tape, remove barriers to innovation and accelerate the time it takes to bring emerging technologies to market.
Willetts, who took on the role of chair of the RIO in March, hopes to shape regulatory approaches that empower new technologies, supporting Labour’s pledge to bring the UK’s most promising new technologies to the public quickly and safely while kickstarting economic growth.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said it would offer funding between £50,000 and £1m on regulator-led and local authority-led projects, which run from six to 12 months. The projects must start from 1 October 2025 and end by 30 September 2026. The deadline for applications is 31 July 2025, and DSIT is expected to start awarding funding from 1 October 2025.
This is the fourth round of funding. In the last round, funding helped Milton Keynes trial local authority drone deliveries for urgent medical supplies and environmental monitoring. The trial included exploring low-risk test flights and sensors to track the drones’ path to safely test and approve these services.
“Thanks to the RPF [Regulators’ Pioneer Fund], we’ve been able to start building the groundwork for using drones to make services more efficient,” said Shanika Mahendran, cabinet member for planning and placemaking and Milton Keynes City Council.
“It’s given us a chance to explore what safety checks and rules we need to follow so we can move from just testing drones to using them in the long-term.”
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA’s) exploration of the use of synthetic data in clinical trials was another project in the third funding round. The project used computer-generated data to replace some of the participants who would normally receive a placebo. The MHRA said this approach can make trials quicker, cheaper and more inclusive, while still ensuring safety and effectiveness.
Puja Myles, director of the clinical practice research datalink at the MHRA, said: “The RPF grant has given us a better understanding of the scenarios when synthetic data could be used to boost sample sizes of clinical trials.
“This project is part of the MHRA’s work to promote innovation and embrace emerging technologies in clinical trials, to help get new treatments to patients faster.”
The fourth round of the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund is open to regulators and local authorities across the UK, and will include projects in key growth areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, engineering biology, space, and connected and autonomous vehicles.
“Smarter, more agile regulation is key to businesses bringing ideas to market faster, while giving the public confidence in new technologies,” said science minister Patrick Vallance.
“These projects show how regulators can work with industry to unlock breakthroughs – from autonomous drones improving emergency services, to AI that cuts the cost and time spent on clinical trials.
“By backing this kind of innovation, we’re helping to make the UK the best place in the world to launch, test and scale new ideas, and drive the economic growth we need to improve lives and deliver our Plan for Change,” he said.
