UK Horizons: ATLAS

The Alliance of Talent Leaders Across Science (ATLAS) seeks to identify, support, and connect leaders who are cultivating technical and scientific communities across the UK.

The Challenge

The UK’s robust R&D ecosystem is built upon diverse communities of exceptional talent – from elite academic labs and world-class institutions to grassroots societies. These communities are hubs from which exceptional scientists and researchers emerge, with potential for groundbreaking advancements.

However, many of these communities exist in isolation and siloes, lack visibility to attract wide support or networks of talent, or are narrowly scoped by geography, domain, or sector. This fragmentation limits the flow of information, talent, and ideas across the UK. The lack of interconnectedness of the UK’s R&D ecosystem not only restricts the resources and networks individuals can use to translate their ideas into impact, but it also constrains the overall ecosystem’s ability to surface and enable breakthroughs.

RenPhil is building the Alliance of Talent Leaders Across Science (ATLAS) to identify, support, and connect leaders who are cultivating technical and scientific communities across the UK. This initiative is comprised of two core activities:

  • Mapping technical talent communities across the UK to help innovators identify communities they should join and identify missing gaps in the ecosystem

  • Cultivating a community of practice for leaders of talent communities to facilitate the exchange of resources, opportunities, best practices, and enable collaboration

By fostering resource sharing and encouraging collaborative events that break down geographical and disciplinary barriers, ATLAS will shine a light on both established and emerging groups. This initiative will enable ecosystem builders to identify hidden pockets of talent and pinpoint missing links within the current ecosystem. In doing so, ATLAS will not only amplify the visibility of individual communities but also create a culture of open information exchange, peer learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration, elements that are critical for unlocking the nation’s full potential in breakthrough science.

Learn more about the ATLAS initiative here.

ATLAS is powered by RenPhil's partnership with the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA).

Our Approach