Letters: Give me an A for Aria
[Re: Inbound boss of Cummings’ brainchild ARIA withdraws, March 17]
The Government’s prized new innovation agency, ARIA, is off to a shaky start.
Like most people in the UK’s R&D space, I was excited when the Government announced that they were launching ARIA. The initial plans certainly ticked a lot of the right boxes, with the agency designed to be independent, led by scientists as opposed to civil servants, and run like a business with a clear aim to allocate funding quickly.
But here we are, one year later, and the first Chief Executive has yet to be decided. The agency was kept deliberately vague originally because the first director will decide the structure and direction. As such, appointing the Chief Executive Director is essentially the first step.
Would a business leave such a critical role vacant for such a long period of time? Where’s the urgency? It’s a great idea, and an exciting role, so there should be no lack of applicants.
These are likely just teething problems, but one of the agency’s foundational principals is meant to be agility in direct contrast to the slow and bureaucratic nature of most funding agencies. As innovation races forward across the world, we’ve lost a year.
Having said that, selecting the first chief executive is not to be rushed. Their vision will shape the future of British innovation so the Government’s main priority should be to ensure they get the right person for the job. Let’s hope the first chief executive picks up the pace when they are selected.
Mark Smith