The platform, called Metius, will use AI to improve the speed, relevance and accessibility of evidence synthesis for decision-makers tackling urgent challenges.

Metius is funded by UKRI through the Economic and Social Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) with co-funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The consortium of organisations working on the project is led by Queen’s University Belfast.

The investment comes as part of a wider $126m project to improve the production and use of ‘living evidence synthesis’, with hopes of supporting the UN sustainability goals.

The $126m includes combined investments from ESRC, NERC, the Wellcome Trust, the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, the Jacobs Foundation, Health Research Board Ireland and the National Institute for Health Research.

The Metius initiative establishes an anchor investment in the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC), which is a global alliance bringing together governments, research funders, evidence producers and more than 50 multilateral organisations to work to close the gap between research and action in the face of complex national and global challenges.

The ESIC is co-founded with the Wellcome Trust, and is building a distributed AI-enabled infrastructure dedicated to living evidence synthesis.

ESRC has announced a further £6m ‘challenge fund’ to support new collaborations with research funders that further the aims of ESIC.

Stian Westlake, ESRC executive chair, said: “AI has enormous potential to turn a mass of diffuse research into synthesised, useful summaries, which can help policy makers and practitioners deliver better outcomes for citizens.   

“This new infrastructure investment has the potential to transform how evidence informs policy decisions, and strengthen the UK’s position as a leader in research and innovation, driving economic growth and improving lives.”