Strategy

Launched in 2022, the Royal Society’s current five year strategy centres around five key areas of work:  

• The Fellowship, Foreign Membership and beyond: Fundamentally, the Society is its Fellowship. None of the elements of this strategic plan can be delivered without an excellent, diverse and engaged Fellowship and Foreign Membership. They sit at the centre of wider networks of excellence which are also critical to the Society’s work, including its University Research Fellows, other grant recipients and the many experts who provide critical input to Society projects. 
• Influencing in the UK and globally: Since its inception the Society has been a leader in supporting informed and evidence-based decision making in government and beyond, providing timely, independent and authoritative briefings on scientific matters of topical relevance. 
• Research system and culture: Since its early focus on the application of the experimental method, the Society has been a leader in shaping the character of the scientific enterprise. This part of the plan will address forthcoming activity directly addressing issues in the culture and conduct of science.
• Science and society: The Society has a long tradition of engagement in scientific matters with communities beyond the world of research, including schools and higher education institutions. It also runs a comprehensive programme of outreach and engagement activities, helping to broaden access and inspire and inform the public about new technologies and the transformative potential of scientific discovery.
• Corporate and governance: The Society’s ability to deliver these programmes rests on a wide range of co-ordination and support services. The systems and policies that underpin our work need to be fit for purpose and support clarity, transparency and accountability in our decision making. 

In addition to these five priority areas, the following four considerations underpin and cut across all aspects of the Royal Society’s work:  

• Independence: The global reach of the Royal Society and its intellectual and financial independence give it unique scope to influence and to provide leadership in science.
• Partnership and convening: The Fellowship represents excellence across the research landscape and beyond, providing an invaluable resource in building interdisciplinary and other partnerships to effect change.
• Equality, diversity and inclusion: Throughout the period of this plan, the Society will take an integrated approach, placing these themes at the centre of all its work, informed by their importance in driving the quality of science and decision making.
• International and global focus: Almost all the Society does has a global dimension (amongst other activities, its publishing operation and its grants programmes). The Society will embed this perspective across the range of its work.