ISPF: expenditure with Japan – parliamentary question response
Published 12 March 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-science-partnership-fund-expenditure-with-japan-q1-2022-to-2023-up-to-q2-2025-to-2026/ispf-expenditure-with-japan-parliamentary-question-response
1. Parliamentary Question (PQ)
Dame Chi Onwurah MP (Labour, Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West): To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85758 on Science: International Cooperation, what information her Department holds on the funding for the Japan Science Partnership. (88638)
2. Methodology
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) collects quarterly financial information for the International Science Partnership Fund (ISPF) through a fund management process. Each partner organisation reports their total expenditure for the period alongside details on partner countries and for what purpose.
The amount spent in partnership with a specific country is calculated by adding all expenditure on R&D activities delivered through bilateral partnerships. Activities involving multiple countries are excluded, as it is not possible to allocate spend to an individual country, as are administrative and delivery costs. Historic figures can be revised following internal audits by partner organisations.
3. PQ answer
A total of £13.7 million on R&D was carried out through ISPF in partnership with Japan. This figure covers the period from Q1 FY 2022-2023 to Q2 FY 2025-2026 inclusive.
Further information on ISPF is available in the baseline evaluation conducted by Technopolis and published in March 2025, with section 2.3 providing an overview of the portfolio as of December 2024.
DSIT is committed to releasing the amount spent on bilateral partnerships with a single partnership country for ISPF spend from FY 2022-2023 to FY 2025-3026 in summer 2026. This will cover R&D which is not eligible as Official Development Assistance (ODA), further detail of which is available through the Statistics on International Development (SID) release from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).