New report charts the evolution and future direction of UK metascience

Opening the Metascience 2025 conference in London, Science Minister Lord Patrick Vallance today launched two major publications that demonstrate the UK’s growing leadership in research on research:

• A Year in Metascience, a government-led overview of current activity and emerging priorities; and
• The Past, Present and Future of UK Metascience, a supporting technical report co-authored by the Research on Research Institute (RoRI) and the UK Metascience Unit – offering the most comprehensive snapshot to date of metascience activity in the UK – and how the field is evolving globally.

Science Minister Lord Vallance said:

“Metascience 2025 brings global focus to an important question around how we can make science work better for researchers, funders, and the public. We’re testing new approaches – from peer review reform to AI tools – that could build an evidence base for a more efficient, transparent funding system that delivers value for the public.”

Commissioned by the UK Metascience Unit, the RoRI-authored The Past, Present and Future of UK Metascience report analyses current capabilities, identifies strengths and gaps in the UK landscape, and highlights opportunities to grow the field through targeted investment, partnerships and experimentation. It is published alongside a new interactive web tool, enabling comparison and benchmarking of national systems and initiatives in metascience worldwide.

The UK is the only country to have an in-house Metascience Unit sitting within Government, working across UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). It is also home to the Research on Research Institute (RoRI) – an international consortium dedicated to metascience.

James Wilsdon, Executive Director of RoRI and Professor of Research Policy at UCL, said:

“Global investment in R&D now stands at US$ 3 trillion a year, and here in the UK, the Government recently announced another £86 billion of R&D investment over the next 3 years. Metascience — which uses data, evidence and experimentation to deliver more bang for all these bucks — has never been more important. This is heightened by the current turbulence in US science funding, and by ongoing pressures to divert funding to other resources, such as defence.”

Read ‘A Year In Metascience’ and ‘The Past, Present and Future of UK Metascience’ on the DSIT website.