Skip to main content
Collection

Areas of research interest

Areas of research interest (ARI) are published documents which detail some of the main research questions facing the UK government.

Updates to this page

From:
Government Office for Science and Cabinet Office
Published:
28 June 2017
Last updated:
19 June 2026
Show all updates

  1. Added a link to the DWP Areas of Research Interest 2026.

  2. FCDO Areas of Research Interest added.

  3. Added a link to the Ofsted ARIs.

  4. Industrial Strategy Advisory Council: areas of research interest added to collection under 'Ministerial and non-ministerial departments' areas of research interest'.

  5. Added new ARIs by devolved governments and ALBs.

  6. A link to the Clean Energy Superpower Mission areas of research interest has been added.

  7. Links to the Ministry of Justice and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities ARIs have been added.

  8. Changes have been made to the landing page information to keep the information up to date. Withdrawn ARIs or previous versions of ARIs for the different government departments have been removed and a restructured department archive has been added to keep a record of ARIs under restructured departments. The Non ministerial departments' Areas of Research Interest section has been removed and entries from it moved to a new, combined Ministerial and non-ministerial departments section. Public bodies' Areas of Research Interest will now also feature agencies' ARIs.

  9. A link to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Areas of Research Interest has been added and the link to the National Archives Areas of Research interest has been updated.

  10. DSIT Areas of Research Interest 2024 have been added.

  11. Link to HM Revenue and Customs: Areas of Research Interest 2024 added.

  12. HM Treasury Areas of Research Interest added.

  13. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Areas of Research Interest have been added to the list of Departments' Areas of Research Interest.

  14. Added 'DWP Areas of Research Interest 2023' to collection

  15. I added a new "Areas of Research Interests" group - called "Public bodies' Areas of Research Interest" and added an already published page (“Trade Remedies Authority areas of research interest”) to this new group.

  16. Department for Business and Trade's areas of research interest added to the collection.

  17. Added DLUHC areas of research interest.

  18. Added ARI guidance.

  19. Defra group research and innovation interests 2021 added.

  20. Addition of 2 documents by the Government Office for Science looking into the evidence base and data and evaluation areas of research.

  21. Addition of DIT areas of research interest for 2020 to 2021.

  22. Added FCO coronavirus update and BEIS interim update 2020

  23. Added Home Office: areas of research interest document.

  24. Added DfT areas of research interest 2019.

  25. Added 'Cabinet Office Areas of Research Interest 2019'.

  26. Added 'DWP Areas of Research Interest 2019'.

  27. National Archives areas of research interest added.

  28. Added the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's Areas of Research Interest.

  29. Added the Department for Education's Areas of Research Interest.

  30. Added Health and Safety Executive (HSE) areas of research interest.

  31. DIT, DWP and MOD Areas of Research Interest added.

  32. Cabinet Office ARIs added

  33. BEIS ARI added.

  34. FCO areas of research interests added

  35. Added DH areas of research interest.

  36. Added DfT ARI

  37. Added the FSA's ARI

  38. First published.

ARI also include information on:

  • departmental research systems
  • research and data publication policies
  • research and development strategies

About UK government ARIs

The 2015 Nurse review of the UK Research Councils recommended that “for effective engagement with the research community, there is a need for a comparable cross-Government statement regarding Government’s overall R&D needs, which spans the full range of Government Departments” (Nurse, 2015). In response to this recommendation, ARI documents have been created by government organisations since 2017.

ARIs aim to improve how UK government departments: 

  • Align scientific and research evidence from academia with policy development and decision-making 

  • Access a wide range of suppliers 

  • Engage with researchers 

  • Access stronger policy evidence bases at better value for money 

  • Share research commissions

The Government Office for Science (GOS) supports the creation and use of ARI documents for ministerial departments, non-ministerial departments, devolved governments, and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALB) such as executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Please find more information about the background, aims and purpose of an ARI in the Guidance on Writing and using Areas of Research Interest.

If you have general queries related to ARI guidance, please contact the Government Office for Science.

The following resources can help policymakers and experts explore research interests and ways to engage:

Feedback

If you are interested in working on a published research question, please use the contact details available on the relevant ARI database or in the relevant ARI document.

Read how Professor Caroline Bond’s response to an ARI led to a seminar and further engagement. If you have an ARI experience you’d like to share, please get in touch at ari.support@go-science.gov.uk.

Please see the below collection of ARI publications produced by government organisations.

Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs)

Arm’s length body ARI publications can be found on their website, see links below, and may also be searched for in the ARI database..

Devolved governments

Devolved Government ARIs can be found on their website, see links below, and may also be searched for in the ARI database

Ministerial and non-ministerial departments' areas of research interest

Most recent ARI publication for ministerial and non-ministerial departments. ARI questions may also be searched for in the ARI database.

Guidance

Additional Information

Restructured department archive

Archived ARI publication for departments which have undergone a restructure.

Contents