Guidance

Science Capability Review: final report (July 2026)

Updated 4 August 2026

Foreword

Since the publication of the Science Capability Review (SCR) in 2019, departments, professions, and partners across government have strengthened science capability, ensuring we remain equipped to deliver the timely and relevant science advice essential for effective policymaking. I am pleased to share this report which sets out how we have completed all the recommendations from the SCR.  

In January 2024 we published a SCR progress report. Since then, we have continued to deliver on the recommendations in the report through achievements such as better coordination of R&D, improving the use of research and evidence by sharing resources across government, and building science skills through the Government Science and Engineering profession. These developments show the growing maturity of science capability across the government system.

In 2024, I reflected that there was no doubt science capability in government had improved since the release of the original SCR in 2019. This report demonstrates that progress has continued and the SCR recommendations have been successfully embedded in the government’s business-as-usual processes. This shows how fully integrated science advice is critical to policymaking, and we have set out below some of the many ways this has been improved.

I would like to thank colleagues for making this truly cross-government collaboration work effectively and for ensuring that it continues to deliver improvements in science capability.  These improvements will benefit this country in the years to come and help it meet the challenges ahead. Building strong and sustained science capability remains a vital prerequisite for good science advice and evidence. Although the SCR has formally concluded there is more to do to ensure these improvements are sustained and deepened.  We must continue to strengthen science systems, capability and coordination across government in the face of evolving challenges to deliver one of my key objectives as GCSA – to build a more scientific Civil Service.

Professor Dame Angela McLean
Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Executive summary

The Science Capability Review (SCR), published in 2019 by the Government Office for Science (GOS), assessed the role of science capability in government decision-making and made 15 recommendations to strengthen the use of science in policymaking. A progress update in 2024 reported that 5 of these recommendations had been completed and embedded into government operations, alongside a qualitative evaluation of delivery.

This final report describes the continued work done to build science capability across government. It formally closes the remaining 10 recommendations, setting out the rationale for each, and outlines how these recommendations have now become business-as-usual within departments. While this marks the formal closure of the recommendations, it is still vital to continue to sustain and advance science capability across departments, particularly in light of continuing fiscal pressures across government.

The closure of the SCR represents a significant milestone for government science and engineering. These collective achievements, from launching a dedicated careers website to better coordination of R&D, continue to demonstrate our commitment to advancing scientific capability within government. As these initiatives continue to become embedded in everyday departmental operations, they will continue to enhance our ability to address challenges, support innovation, and deliver improved outcomes for society. At a time when science and technology are central to many policy challenges, ensuring sufficient capability, resourcing and integration of evidence remains an ongoing priority. Delivering SCR recommendations to embed science and research across government ensures a strong foundation for future progress and excellence. Continuing to build on these foundations to improve the government science system is more important than ever, and GOS teams will continue to work with colleagues across government to keep progress under review.

Update on each recommendation

Recommendation 1

Every department should have a clearly defined science system. A central role here is leadership in the articulation of the entire range of a department’s science needs in a single document which is endorsed by the department’s Executive Committee.

Status: Completed. Closed in the SCR 2024 Progress Update.

Rationale for closure: Since the SCR was first published, GOS has worked with departments to develop guidance and design principles for those developing a science system. As of April 2026, 15 departments have Science and Evidence System (SES) documents. Departments are advised to regularly review their science systems to ensure they remain relevant and up to date.

GOS has developed an interactive map of the government’s science advisory councils and committees system. This enables officials and external partners in academia and industry to understand and make use of the relationships that exist across the system and helps identify areas that need strengthening.

Recommendation 2

All departments should publish, and refresh annually, Areas of Research Interest.

Status: Completed. Closed in the SCR 2024 Progress Update.

Rationale for closure: All Departments that would benefit from engagement with academia and industry have now published Areas of Research Interest (ARIs), and in many cases have received positive feedback from external partners. ARIs should be updated when there are significant changes to departmental priorities and reviewed at least every 3 years.

ARIs are public documents designed to facilitate engagement from academia and industry. All UK government ARI questions can be found on the searchable ARI Database at ari.org.uk.  

GOS has supported the development of ARIs by providing guidance and hosting working groups for officials. Current guidance for departments is available at Writing and using Areas of Research Interest - GOV.UK

ARIs are now consistently produced by collecting input across a whole department and can be used to inform funders’ priorities.

Recommendation 3

The government should create a policy-focused Forum for Public Laboratories, to raise their profile within government and to create greater knowledge exchange about their role amongst policymakers. An early task for the forum will be to advise on the development of a framework for evaluating their performance and value.

Status: Completed. Closed in the SCR 2024 Progress Update.

Rationale for closure: By 2024, 2 forums had been created:

• The National Laboratory Alliance (NLA): a network of twelve UK Public Sector laboratories strengthening UK resilience to external threats.
• A PSRE Policy Forum: a group bringing together senior scientists across Public Laboratories to discuss current and emerging policy issues. Aims of the group include creating opportunities to advise on government science policy and raise awareness of Public Laboratory capabilities.

In 2022, GOS published the PSRE Value Framework as a tool to support departments in assessing the performance and value of PSREs.

The National Research Organisations (NRO) Group, set up in 2025, is an alliance of around 40 UK science and research centres providing a unified and authoritative perspective on science, policy, and research investment.

Recommendation 4

The government should make greater use of Public Laboratories as leaders in directed R&D programmes, and in supporting innovation through intermediate technology readiness levels. Government should give greater support to them in this role.

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: Since the 2024 progress report, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has continued to deliver support for Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs) across government, including through mechanisms like delivery of a new, simplified procurement route, the “Scientific Research and Advice for Government” Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), for low-value science research, expertise or advice. Government is working with UKRI and other stakeholders to determine how it can best deliver government priorities across the whole lifecycle of infrastructure investment (options analysis, construction, operation or repurpose, upgrade, and decommissioning).

DSIT is also building on the PSRE Value Framework by commencing a programme of work to support departments and National Research Organisations (NROs), including PSREs. This programme will enable HMG and the wider research and innovation landscape to more effectively leverage the unique science capabilities possessed by these organisations. This work links to Recommendation 3 closed in the 2024 SCR Progress Update. DSIT has been the policy lead for this area since its formation in 2023.

Recommendation 5

UKRI should lead development of tailored forms of governance for research programmes relating to government strategic priorities taken forward under the Strategic Priorities Fund and related areas.

Status: Completed. Closed in the SCR 2024 Progress Update.

Rationale for closure: The Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) aims to strengthen the UK’s research capacity as a world leader in research and innovation and address gaps in the UK research funding system.

The SPF programme is being evaluated over the period 2020-2025. Initial high-level findings from the forthcoming Interim Impact Evaluation of the SPF against the government’s priorities shows:

• There are government departments as formal partners in 30 of the 34 SPF programmes, while 25 departments and agencies are involved in programme advisory boards.
• SPF helped to establish a novel centralised process for engagement between Councils and government departments to identify and prioritise relevant programme ideas.
• 91% of programmes are addressing government priorities and policy needs.
• Three-quarters of SPF programme leads agreed that the SPF experience had increased awareness of national research efforts and state-of-the-art evidence amongst government departments, while even more (92%) believed that UKRI had increased their awareness of government R&I priorities as a result of the SPF.

Recommendation 6 and 7

Recommendation 6

GOS should work with the UK government Investments and the British Business Bank to explore the use of government venture capital (VC) and business development models in innovation, and to provide expert resource to support departments in developing these.

Recommendation 7

GOS should develop proposals for the implementation of business development functions, including experience from similar approaches taken from defence and security to identify wider applicability. This will ensure that the landscape of small and large company activities is well understood, we have good links with those companies and their backers and are able to exercise a range of business partnerships effectively. This work should then be taken forward within the centre of excellence (see Recommendation 14 below). 

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: GOS led and convened the Innovation and Venture Capital Day in February 2024. The day provided an opportunity for government departments and venture capital firms to discuss how to work together more effectively and to help departments signal their innovation needs. The day was led by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and National Technology Adviser. It brought together the Home Office, Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Department for Transport, alongside 18 deep tech VC firms and the wider government investment ecosystem. This included DSIT, Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the British Patient Capital and the British Business Bank.

This engagement demonstrates clear progress against the recommendation and provides a platform for other DSIT programmes to strengthen innovation capability across government.

One of these programmes is the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), the UK Government’s deep tech venture capital fund for National Security and Defence. NSSIF has already delivered significant impact for government and the economy and is scaling its operations to expand its reach further. NSSIF will be scaling up to deploy £330m across the next 3 years to invest in dual-use technologies that can offer a step change in capabilities to National Security and Defence.

The Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan set out a commitment to establish a dedicated service to support high-potential UK companies to scale, attract investment and remain headquartered in the UK. The Office for Life Sciences is working with industry and across government to capture new opportunities emerging from the sector, and unblock barriers preventing UK companies from realising their full potential in the UK.

DSIT is also the host department for Sovereign AI, a new £500m fund to back homegrown AI founders, drive growth and create jobs across the UK. Sovereign AI is designed to act like a venture capital fund, investing directly in the UK’s most promising AI startups, and supporting them with a unique package of support, including visas, access to supercomputers and R&D funding for the assets and enablers they need to grow and compete with the best in the world.

Government is developing a broader “scale-up offer” to provide specialised support to high-growth companies. DSIT is proactively engaging strategically important frontier tech companies (with Office for Investment support) to unblock barriers and help them stay, scale and invest in the UK. This includes building strong relationships at ministerial and senior-official levels.

Recommendation 8

Submissions by departments to the Treasury ahead of Spending Reviews (SR) should incorporate a statement of research, development need and costed plans for meeting those needs. Departments should include a clear statement of where particular R&D work streams fit within the spectrum from basic to applied R&D.

Status: Completed. Closed in the SCR 2024 Progress Update.

Rationale for closure: GOS has introduced the use of R&D statements for departments, encouraging them to complete an R&D Statement following their SR submissions. These statements have helped provide a more comprehensive view of R&D expenditure across government, supporting the GCSA’s advice to HM Treasury, including during the recent 2025 Spending Review.

Recommendation 9

The Government Chief Scientific Adviser should work with HM Treasury and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to ensure that government expenditure on research and development is transparently reflected in public expenditure statistics so that in the future there will be comprehensive data on which to assess spending on science within government.

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: Since 2025, departmental R&D investment data is now provided as part of HM Treasury’s regular PESA data releases, allowing for increased scrutiny of departmental R&D outturn.

Across government, transparency of R&D investment is supported through a range of mechanisms. Departments report expenditure through HM Treasury’s Estimates, annual reports and accounts, and the ONS GovERD survey, enabling consistent categorisation and scrutiny of R&D spending. Information on allocations following Spending Reviews, and regional funding where available, further strengthens the overall picture of public R&D investment.

As the department responsible for 68% of government’s planned R&D investment over the current Spending Review period, DSIT provides a clear example of this approach in practice. Working closely with UKRI, DSIT ensures its R&D expenditure is captured through multiple reporting mechanisms and continues to improve the quality and coverage of the data it provides to support accurate national statistics on government R&D spend.

Recommendation 10

The Government Science and Engineering (GSE) Profession Board should work with the Analysis Function Board to ensure that the Civil Service as a whole has the scientific skills it needs and the mechanisms to deploy them effectively through the wider Civil Service functional agenda being led by the Cabinet Office.

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: Since re‑establishing itself as a standalone profession in 2020, the GSE Profession has focused on strengthening science and engineering skills across government. Its first strategy was published in 2021, with a refreshed version published in April 2026.

Since the 2024 update, the profession launched a careers website (October 2024) to showcase the wide range of science and engineering careers available and completed a skills commission identifying around 13,000 roles. This data is now informing targeted capability-building products and contributing to the Government People Group’s skills taxonomy and wider Civil Service initiatives.

The profession has delivered events to support collaboration and skills development, including leadership masterclasses, the 2024 GSE Conference, and annual support for the Royal Society Pairing Scheme. It continues to support the Science and Engineering Fast Stream scheme through alumni activity and has developed a Science and Engineering 101 package now embedded across key government learning curricula. Professional recognition is well established, with civil servants accessing accreditation support each year.

To deepen specialist expertise, the STEM Futures programme now includes 55 partner organisations and 8 hubs, with new hubs launched in 2024–25 and more in development. These hubs have increased a wide range of placements, secondments and mentoring across academia, public and the private sector.  A new GSE members’ site will launch in September 2026 which will create a platform for members to collaborate and explore options to upskill. To strengthen skills in the Senior Civil Service, GOS has launched a leadership development scheme for experienced scientists and engineers and is exploring new approaches for bringing in external talent for senior roles through the Mid-Career Scientist and Engineer Scheme. The profession is also developing a government-wide reward framework to support government organisations in implementing specialist pay allowances. This will enable them to attract, recruit and retain the best science and engineering talent.

Membership stands at 9,600, with the next conference planned for October 2026.

Recommendation 11

All departments should have a clear sign-off mechanism for science expenditure, involving joint accountability for the Director of Finance and Chief Scientific Adviser, in reporting to the departmental Executive Committee and to Ministers.

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: Departments have continued to strengthen arrangements for the oversight and governance of science expenditure, with many now operating sign-off and assurance processes that involve both finance and science leadership. In several departments, this includes close collaboration between Directors of Finance and Chief Scientific Advisers (CSAs), with science investment decisions considered through existing executive governance structures and, where appropriate, reflected in advice to Ministers.

As the department responsible for over two-thirds of government R&D investment, DSIT has established clear processes to ensure appropriate sign‑off and accountability for science and R&D expenditure. All spending is undertaken within the Department’s delegated authority framework, with defined approval limits and accountability for budget holders in line with the Managing Public Money Principles. Proposals for new or materially changed science and R&D expenditure are subject to proportionate business case approval, with financial, commercial and strategic assurance provided through established investment and approvals committees before commitments are made.  Oversight of science and R&D investment is supported through coordinated engagement between the Director of Finance, the Chief Scientific Adviser and senior R&D policy leadership. In‑year oversight is maintained through regular financial review processes, including a Quarterly Financial Review attended by Ministers, Directors General, Finance and R&D leaders, which provide visibility of performance and enable timely decisions within agreed delegations.

GOS will continue to encourage departments to review and, where appropriate, strengthen their governance arrangements for science expenditure. This builds on existing mechanisms to ensure decisions are well‑informed, transparent, and aligned with departmental priorities. The GCSA has made clear to departments, including HM Treasury, the important role of CSAs in this area. GOS will ensure learnings and best practice are shared via cross-government networks.

Recommendation 12

Chief Scientific Advisers (CSAs) should work to ensure (and have support from their departments in doing so) that science specialists have access to the tools, research journals and data that are essential to understanding, evaluating, and undertaking excellent research.

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: In February 2024, GOS shared guidance with government departments on accessing research articles. The purpose of this resource is to provide support for anyone in the Civil Service looking to access research articles and to connect those who manage journal procurement with departments who have established library services. The guidance was developed through reviewing existing research and engaging expert librarians across government to share good practice. This is housed on the Science Capability Hub, which also provides guidance and resources to improve science capability across the Civil Service (see Recommendation 14).

Recommendation 13

GOS should work with UKRI to develop guidance for government departments on best practice for a) improving peer review and research integrity and b) benchmarking of quality and outcomes.

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: In 2022, GOS published guidance on the implementation of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity within government. It provides a framework to ensure that all research conducted or commissioned by government departments adheres to research integrity standards.

In March 2025, GOS shared an internal directory with government departments for officials involved in obtaining, producing and using research and evidence. The goal is to ensure that policy and delivery decisions are based on reliable, high-quality research and evidence. The directory offers numerous links to guidance documents, tools and web pages covering a wide range of areas, such as accessing academic expertise, evaluating evidence, quality assurance and the use of AI. It was published on the Science Capability Hub (see Recommendation 14).

Recommendation 14

A centre of excellence should be created to support those departments with smaller science and evidence budgets in areas of basic capability that underpin the conduct of an effective research programme, such as data quality and integrity, research procurement, research governance, best practice in the use of grants and contracts, and the use of financial instruments and business development approaches in the development of R&D programmes.

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: GOS has established a Centre of Excellence to support government departments in strengthening science capability and building effective science systems. The Science Capability Hub (SCH) is an internal government online platform that brings together guidance, good practice and resources. It also supports coordination across government by helping officials connect with cross-government groups and promote science capability events and networks. The site is widely used across government.

The SCH offers a comprehensive collection of resources, including guidance documents, tools, and web links. Resources include the Directory for Quality Research and Evidence (Recommendation 13), support for civil servants wishing to collaborate with academics, information for working within departmental science systems, and guidance on the use of AI within the government science system.

Recommendation 15

For important cross-government areas of science, shared governance models consistent with the recommendations of the National Audit Office (NAO) report on cross-government research and development should be established to improve coordination and to maximise funding opportunities, including opportunities to link up internationally. To support this, the Government Digital Service should work on a platform to allow important R&D projects to be logged within a single database.

Status: Completed. Closed in this final report.

Rationale for closure: In 2024, DSIT established the official level, cross-Government R&D Oversight Group to improve coordination of cross-cutting R&D investment. This group meets quarterly and is co-chaired by DSIT and HM Treasury Directors General and the GCSA. It brings together CSAs, departmental policy leads & UKRI to consider the totality of R&D investment and how it can best support shared priorities through improved coordination.

Following the 2025 Spending Review, UKRI has taken a new programme-based approach to coordinate its investment into each of the Industrial Strategy Sectors, as well as priority non-Industrial Strategy Sectors. Each Industrial Strategy Sector has a programme board, with representatives from relevant departments where there is demonstrable policy or delivery interest, to support transparency and coordination of investment on cross-cutting priorities. Taken together, this programme-based approach with departmental representation, reflects the recommendation in the NAO report on cross-Government funding of research and development that “(BEIS [now DSIT] & UKRI) should bring key players together, coordinate activity where possible, and promote collective working.”

To support all of this, since 2023, DSIT has commissioned a consolidated cross-government view of departmental R&D spend – known as the R&D Stack – which provides a single source, whole-of-portfolio view of what departments invest in R&D, where and for what purpose. This dataset is shared with departments to improve transparency and join-up across government.