Event Details

Date: Monday, 12 October 2026

Time: 12:30- 2:00pm

Venue: G.02, Zone 29, University of Westminster, 29 Marylebone Road, London

Nearest Tube Station: Baker Street Station

UKRI’s new five-year strategy sets out an ambitious direction for the UK’s research and innovation landscape. But what does that ambition mean in practice for universities at a time of significant financial pressure, competing priorities and constrained institutional capacity?

Join us along with Sarah Chaytor, Director of Research Strategy & Policy at UCL and Director of the Research-on-Research Institute (RoRI CIC), for an ARMA London Regional Group conversation exploring the implications of UKRI’s strategy for universities and the research management community.

The session will look beyond the strategy itself to consider some of the bigger questions facing the sector: How should universities respond to UKRI’s priorities? Where should institutions focus increasingly limited resources? What might the strategy mean for research funding and research management? And how can universities work more collaboratively with UKRI and with each other to strengthen the UK research and innovation system?

The session will combine speaker’s reflections with an interactive discussion, giving colleagues from across London universities an opportunity to share perspectives, ask questions and consider what the next five years could mean for their institutions and for the research management profession.

To submit a question in advance, please add it to our Padlet by 5 October 2026. Questions received will help inform the facilitated discussion.

Attendance is free, but participants will be required to cover their own travel costs.

This event is open to ARMA members. If you are not currently a member but are interested in attending, please complete the online enquiry form.

Sarah Chaytor – Director, Research on Research Institute (RoRI CIC), Director of Research Strategy & Policy, UCL Public Policy, Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Sarah Chaytor is a Co-Director of the Research-on-Research Institute and the Director of Research Strategy & Policy at UCL, where she established and leads the UCL Public Policy programme. Her work focuses on building institutional capacity for policy engagement, leading research policy initiatives, and managing strategic higher education projects.

Sarah is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), where she also serves as Director of Programmes. Her recent leadership roles include heading the Capabilities in Academic-Policy Engagement (CAPE) project and serving as Principal Investigator for the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO).

Prior to her current roles, Sarah held research policy positions at the Russell Group, the Wellcome Trust, and Universities UK, and worked as a parliamentary researcher. She is also a Visiting Professor of Practice at Newcastle University and Vice President (Policy & Partnerships) at the British Science Association.