Introduction - UK research and the European Union

Excellent research and innovation help us to live healthier, fuller and better lives. Europe is home to world-class research, and researchers come from all over the world to collaborate with researchers that are based here and to use European scientific infrastructure. The UK has created a world-leading research base that partners with the best and most ambitious in the rest of the world, keeping UK research at the cutting edge.

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.

A referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union (EU) took place on 23 June 2016. 

The Society is conducting a phased project gathering evidence about the influence of the UK’s relationship with the EU on research. It is intended to inform debate.

The first report examines the role of the EU in funding UK research. 

The second report sets out to show the role of the EU in UK-based researchers’ international collaborations and mobility. 

The third report provides an insight into the role of the EU in developing EU and global policies that influence research conducted in the UK.