CaSE has published its Annual Review for 2019/20, giving a summary of its activities and campaign successes over the last year.

This year, despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, CaSE has made important strides in enhancing the environment for UK science and engineering and ensuring its long-term health. 

Achievements

We have worked hard to press the case for R&D investment, seeing a record science budget this year and a commitment to accelerate rising Government investment to £22bn by 2024. Our members across the country have contributed generously to our work on R&D investment and place, enabling us to contribute to Government’s planned R&D place strategy. 

CaSE has worked to improve the environment and benefits felt by people within and beyond the research base. We have influenced Government policy to better attract international talent to the UK and used our voice in Government fora to secure positive outcomes for research collaboration with Europe. CaSE has widened its focus this year to consider the need for broader and more active public support for R&D investment to sustain an ‘R&D decade’. Exciting ideas are emerging from our collaboration with Wellcome on this programme.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, CaSE has used its breadth of sight across academic, commercial and charitable science and engineering to illustrate the impact on the whole sector and call for measures that sustain the breadth and interconnectedness of the research base.

Farewell from the Chair

This year’s Annual Review features a farewell from the CaSE Chair, Professor Graeme Reid, whose term expires at the end of the year. Professor Reid looks back over his time at CaSE and why the organisation continues to play such an important role in the sector.

Heading into 2021

The Review also takes a look forward, setting out our ambitions for 2021 and beyond:

• Working with our members to ensure that the entire science and engineering sector recovers from the impact of Covid-19, so that it can play a leading role in driving forward UK growth and prosperity.
• Ensure the uplift in public funding for science and research is sustained at the next Spending Review and beyond, in line with the trajectory to reach an investment target of 2.4% of GDP in R&D by 2027.
• Build a compelling case towards sustaining and growing public and political support for R&D investment over the coming decade.
• Positively influence domestic and international skills policy to support and enhance efforts to raise the UK’s research intensity.