UK research and the European Union

The Society has conducted a phased project gathering evidence about the influence of the UK’s relationship with the EU on research.

A referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union (EU) took place on 23 June 2016. Find out more about the Society's work since the referendum.

To inform the debate around the time of the referendum, the Society conducted a 3-part phased project gathering evidence about the influence of the UK’s relationship with the EU on UK research.

The role of the EU in funding UK research

The European research landscape is complex. Both the European Union (EU) and individual European countries fund research. Researchers collaborate with each other within Europe and internationally. This report provides an overview of EU research funding and its role in funding UK research.

The role of the EU in international research collaboration and researcher mobility

Science today is almost always complicated and often interdisciplinary, frequently requiring contributions from a variety of participants based in different places. Researchers collaborate to pool intellectual and physical resources. They tend to seek the best and most appropriate partners they can, wherever in the world they may be found. This report provides an insight into the role of the EU in these international research collaborations and the mobility of individual researchers.

The role of EU regulation and policy in governing UK research

This report provides an insight into the role of the EU in developing EU and global policies that influence research conducted in the UK. It provides an overview of how EU policy is made and a number of case studies illustrating the development and implementation of EU and global policy that govern UK research.