/ About the Royal Society / What we do / International work

Global Networks

Advice for policy makers

The Royal Society is a member of the International Science Council and the Inter-Academy Partnership (IAP), which are both global networks of scientific academies and other organisations. 

In partnership with other academies, the Society provides authoritative scientific advice to the United Nations and its agencies, the G7/G20/G-Science Academies meetings, and other influential global decision-making bodies.

G-Science Meetings

The annual G-Science Academies’ meetings started in 2005 and have become a major platform through which the Society collaborates with other leading science academies. The academies discuss and produce statements on global challenges to inform and influence public policies and debate.

Participation at the meetings has varied over the years; Science7 meetings usually include the academies of the G7 nations (USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan), and occasionally some other nations.  Science20 additionally includes academies from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the EU. 

In 2024, the Society worked with the other G7 science academies on six statements that were sent to heads of state and government ahead of the G7 Summit in Italy on: “Security and safety of agricultural production”, “Artificial intelligence and society”, “Policy recommendations for health issues”, “Nuclear arms control”, “Social inequalities and poverty. Combatting increased vulnerability”, and “Science and communication of cultural heritage.  Knowledge and public awareness of our collective roots”.

In July 2023, the Society worked with the other G20 science academies on a joint statement on “Transformative Science for Sustainable Development” ahead of the G20 Summit in India. 

Joint Statements of G-Science Academies 2005-2024 can be found on the G-Science Academies meeting page.

Commonwealth

The Royal Society is the independent science academy of the UK and elects its Fellows from across the Commonwealth. The Society and its partners have supported scientific collaboration across the Commonwealth through participation in a number of activities, including an informal network of Commonwealth science academies, and three Commonwealth Science Conferences. The 2014 conference was held in India and the 2017 conference was held in Singapore. The most recent conference led to two follow-up meetings in Ghana (March 2022) and Jamaica (February 2023). In 2022 the Society joined other Commonwealth science academies from around the globe to call on Commonwealth Heads of Government for joint action on the interlinked challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.