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CaSE 2023-24 Annual Review

29 Oct 2024

Welcome to our review of the year August 2023 – July 2024. This year has seen changes to CaSE as an organisation, shifts in the UK political landscape, and important developments for the UK R&D sector.

In this review we cover the main topics CaSE has worked on this year, you can find insights from our team members, and brief summaries of the events that made up our 2023-24. Please explore this page to find out more.

CaSE's main achievements this year

Business R&D

Publishing our ‘Backing Business R&D’ report looking at the needs of research intensive businesses in the UK

Public Opinion:

Strengthening our public opinion insights, developing our Advocacy Toolkit and driving uptake across the R&D sector

Political Engagement:

Seizing the opportunity the General Election presented to advocate for our members and UK R&D

Media and Communications:

Using our expert voice to provide insight and analysis when R&D policy is in the headlines

Membership:

Ensuring value and impact for our members through our policy and public opinion work

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Research System

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Public Opinion

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Political Engagement

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People and Skills

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Investment

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Media Engagement and Communications

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CaSE Events

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Membership

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Our Organisation

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Ambitions for 2024-25

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A message from our Executive Director

It has been an extremely exciting and interesting time to join CaSE as Executive Director. Political changes spurred by the General Election have opened up opportunities to embed our priorities, as an organisation and a sector, into the national political discourse. Our exceptional programme of work in policy advocacy and public opinion research have gathered pace and support from across the R&D sector; and CaSE has grown to meet the demand for our unique perspective and insight. Our work as a charity is entirely dependent on our broad and varied membership, and I am extremely grateful for the support and input from all CaSE members, including essential funding from Wellcome for our public opinion work.

CaSE believes that research, development, and innovation are vital for a healthy and thriving society. Through policy positions that support the sector we can work to improve the lives and livelihoods of people right across the UK. By working with our members, listening to the public through our public opinion programme, and applying our expert voice, we are able to make the case to policymakers for having R&D at the heart of the UK’s future.

We are a small organisation that has achieved a huge amount in the last year. The enthusiasm and expertise of each member of the CaSE team allow us to be brave, nimble, and punch well above our weight. I am very proud of what we have achieved together, and I am excited for what the coming year will bring as we continue to evolve as an organisation.

Dr Alicia Greated
Executive Director

A message from our Chair

CaSE continues to build on its position as a strong and influential advocate for UK R&D. On behalf of my fellow Trustees, I would like to thank the staff for their tireless efforts this year in pursuit of the charities objectives, and for the professionalism with which they have navigated uncertain times for the sector and a dynamic political landscape.

CaSE’s recent influence and success is in no small part due to the contributions of our previous Executive Director, Sarah Main. For over 10 years, Sarah drove some of CaSE’s biggest wins and helped the organisation navigate some very challenging working circumstances. Sarah shaped CaSE into the robust and influential organisation it is today, closely connected to its membership.

A change of executive leadership for an organisation is always a time of challenge. I am proud to say that CaSE has manged a smooth transition of leadership this year, and would like to thank Daniel Rathbone in particular for his excellent leadership of CaSE in the interim period.

I am delighted that Alicia Greated is the new Executive Director of CaSE. Alicia’s enthusiasm and drive for the future of CaSE is infectious, and I know the team and organisation are entering an exciting period under her stewardship.

Dr Bob Sorrell
Chair of Trustees

Research System

The research system is the environment that supports and enables research and development (R&D) and innovation, including research institutes, regulation and the regional dimension of R&D.

We work with our members and the R&D community to elevate the contribution and functioning of the wider research system. This includes work on research infrastructure and institutes, support for innovation and the regional dimension of R&D.

Backing Business R&D

Ensuring business R&D investment continues to rise is vital if the UK is to achieve its research intensity ambitions.

In May 2024, we published a report, Backing Business R&D, which sets out some of the barriers that UK businesses face when investing in R&D. It also sets out recommendations for the UK Government that will help build an attractive environment for R&D-led businesses, promoting business R&D investment and, in turn, a more research and innovation intensive economy. The report takes a broad approach, exploring areas within the research and innovation system that are relevant across a diverse range of sectors and business sizes.

During the project, we conducted a series of roundtables with stakeholders across the business research and innovation landscape to explore how the fundamentals of the R&D system support or deter business R&D investment, and how the UK Government can attract and support businesses looking to start or grow R&D activity in the UK.

CaSE held a successful event to launch the report, gathering our members and collaborators in London. The event featured a keynote address by Dr Dave Smith, National Technology Adviser at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Backing Business R&D

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This year we published our report Backing Business R&D, which considers actions the Government could take to support the rapid unlocking of barriers to business R&D investment. The report also recommends measures that will strengthen the UK business R&D environment in the longer term, building a stable and predictable policy landscape.

In the report, we outline that to create an attractive environment, all the fundamentals of the R&D system need to be working. The UK Government must use all the levers available to create and enable an environment that incentivises businesses to invest in R&D in the UK.

As a team we are and have been engaging with the Government and the R&D sector on the findings and recommendations.

Dr Camilla d'Angelo
Policy Manager

UK Horizon Europe Association

Following several years of uncertainty over the UK’s future as part of Horizon Europe, the UK and EU reached an agreement in September 2023 for UK association to Horizon Europe and the Copernicus Earth Observation programme. This is an excellent outcome for the R&D sector and is the culmination of a huge amount of work over many years by CaSE and others from right across the sector. Now that association is confirmed, CaSE has been working closely with the R&D sector to inform the UK’s approach to Horizon Europe, including engaging on UK activity, intelligence and influencing. In particular, over the last year, focus has been on measures to boost the UK’s participation rate which has steadily declined since the Brexit referendum in 2016.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s (DSIT’s) First Year

As DSIT marked its first anniversary in February 2024, with a series of announcements, CaSE took the opportunity to look back over DSIT’s first year and rate its progress against the then Government’s Science and Technology (S&T) Framework as well as other policy areas. CaSE was pleased to see the commendable amount that has been achieved in DSIT’s first year, and clear accountability for progress towards previous and future commitments.

UK Universities

A central topic this year has been the significant financial pressures faced by UK universities. To highlight their vital contribution to the R&D system, CaSE worked to capture the diverse, and often intangible, benefits that university-led R&D brings to both the research landscape and to society more broadly.

CaSE gathered our university, business and charity members and other stakeholders for two roundtables, hosted at Queen Mary University of London and Newcastle University on 19th and 25th June, respectively. The evidence gathered fed into our briefing, Universities: A crucial component of UK R&D, highlighting six benefits that university-led R&D brings to the research landscape and society more broadly, alongside illustrative case studies from across the UK. This briefing was included in our letter to the new Secretary of State for Education.

Universities: A crucial component of UK R&D

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Independent Review of the UK’s Research, Development and Innovation Organisational Landscape

Following the publication of the Independent Review of the UK’s Research, Development and Innovation Organisational Landscape led by Sir Paul Nurse, CaSE responded to the findings. CaSE was pleased to see the review contain a number of things we have been calling for and recommended over the last few years. In particular, it was positive to see the Review recognise the importance of long-term stability and predictability, in addition to increased funding, in ensuring a successful R&D landscape within the UK.

Public Opinion

Making R&D matter to more people

CaSE’s Discovery Decade programme is supporting R&D organisations and advocates to connect with a broader base of public supporters. Over the last 12 months, the team has expanded our understanding of public audiences with further polling, focus groups and deliberative dialogue exercises, and translated these insights into practical advocacy tools for R&D advocates.

 

This work was originally funded as a three-year grant from the Wellcome Trust. Based on the success of the programme to-date, Wellcome awarded a grant extension of £330,000 and six months of additional time, to allow CaSE to capitalise on the programme’s findings until the end of December 2024.

 

Over the last year, highlights from the Discovery Decade programme have included:

Public Opinion Research

In October 2023, we completed the sixth, and final, piece of our landmark public opinion study – CaSE Public Attitudes to R&D 2022-23. This explored terminology, time-lags and negative versus positive framings for R&D, as well as testing a series of politically-focused questions.

Attention then turned to collecting public opinion data to underpin CaSE’s programme of engagement around the 2024 UK General Election. Two rounds of polling – in March/April and June – explored election ‘hot topics’ such as economic growth and jobs, to understand how R&D related to these election issues.

We’re delighted to see organisations across the R&D sector drawing on our public opinion research in their own work. We’ll be continuing to focus our efforts on the topics and challenges that can best help R&D advocates connect with the public.

Dr Ben Bleasdale
Director of the Discovery Decade

Advocacy Toolkit

Building on the insights from our public opinion research, the Discovery Decade team focussed on translating the data in practical advice for R&D advocates, covering choices on terminology, messaging and messengers.

In December, the team launched our Advocacy Toolkit with two guides designed to shift the R&D sector’s advocacy towards a more public-centred narrative:

CaSE’s Guide for Engaging the Public

For those engaging with the public about R&D. This guide sets out the role of ‘Purpose and Place’ as the best way to reach new audiences, and shares advice on how best to talk about R&D.

CaSE’s Guide for Engaging Politicians

For those speaking to politicians about R&D, whether at national, regional or local levels. This guide sets out the ‘Five Facts’ we want decision-makers to hear about public attitudes to R&D, to build long-term, cross-party political support.

Place-based Messaging

We continued to build on our model for developing locally-tailored narratives about the value of R&D, informed by local public opinion data. To explore how to use place as a frame to help strengthen connections with R&D on a local level, we ran workshops with local partners in Northern Ireland, Greater Manchester and Stevenage to develop campaign ideas and strategies. The team has continued to work with these local partners to identify opportunities to put the messaging ideas into action in the real-world, with plans for a campaign in Stevenage in late 2024.

People’s Vision for R&D

To strengthen our extensive public opinion research and support a society-centred vision for R&D, CaSE commissioned a deeper exploration of the public’s views through a public dialogue focused on society’s stake in R&D. This project to articulate a People’s Vision for R&D was delivered by the National Centre for Social Research and the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement.

A group of 33 members of the public, selected to broadly reflect UK society, took part in ten hours of dialogue across four online sessions in May 2024, hearing from subject specialists and being provided with information on how the public can influence decisions about R&D and be involved in all stages of research itself. They developed a set of People’s Principles for Involvement in R&D, which describe how the public can be meaningfully and purposefully involved in R&D.

The People’s Vision for R&D was the first public dialogue CaSE has commissioned, and it truly demonstrated the value of involving the public in the conversations we, as a sector, are having about the future of R&D in the UK. It emphasised the level of public interest there is in research, and how much appetite there is for being involved.

Involvement in R&D can bring new research questions, fresh perspectives and a stronger relationship with the public, while helping participants develop new skills and insights into a world that is currently far too closed off.

CaSE is looking forward to working with others across the R&D sector to think about how we can all put the People’s Principles into action.

Dr Rebecca Hill
Advocacy and Engagement Manager

Political Engagement

We work with our members and the R&D community to develop clear recommendations for Government and other policy makers to ensure that science and engineering can flourish.

We engage with the full range of political decision-makers at national, devolved and local levels. This includes responding to consultations, writing letters to MPs and contributing our voice through the media. Here are the topics and events that made up most of our political engagement over the last year:

UK General Election 2024

A general election presents an amazing opportunity to make an impact. CaSE, and its predecessor Save British Science, has advocated for the needs and priorities of UK research and development in each of the nine general elections held since our inception in 1986. This year we were as active as ever in representing the sector at a time of political decision making.

General Election Science Hustings

Ahead of the General Election, CaSE and partners organised a Science, Innovation and Technology hustings. Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat representatives went head-to-head as they discussed their party’s policies on science and technology. The event, hosted at The Royal Society, was organised by CaSE, The Royal Society, The British Academy, The Academy of Medical Sciences, The Royal Academy of Engineering, and The Foundation for Science and Technology. You can read more in the events section of this review.

Parliamentary Candidate Engagement

With a significant shift in the make-up of Parliament expected ahead of the election, it was crucial that CaSE made the most of the opportunity to demonstrate to potential new policy-makers that R&D can help to solve their problems and achieve their goals. Our public opinion polling has shown that most people – regardless of how they intended to vote – want the future government to pay more attention to science and innovation.

In the run up to the UK General Election in early July, the team delivered a major public-centred advocacy campaign to engage Parliamentary Candidates – aiming to spur their interest in R&D as a local and national issue. CaSE produced a first-of-its-kind constituency map of predicted public opinions towards R&D, and used this to send a personalised mail-out to 3,687 candidates highlighting the level of interest among their constituents and sharing our new Guide to Engaging on the Doorstep.

Our call to candidates was clear: if you are elected by the public on 4 July, we need you to push for the policy changes that will help R&D thrive – including committing to long-term sustainable R&D investment, leveraging regional strengths, unlocking education and skills, and driving business investment.

You can read more about this engagement campaign here. Despite not seeking a response from candidates, we received 130+ replies including from new supporters: “To be honest it opened my eyes on what can be achieved, so I’ll be using the information in the near future. and I am very happy to champion it.”.

Even though the election was sprung upon us, CaSE was ready – plans already in place – to respond to the opportunities brought about by a potential change in government. Creating personalised packs for parliamentary candidates gave us a unique way to make the case for local R&D. It was a fascinating project to work on and it meant we had a real head-start in post-election engagement.

Lynne Milford
Campaigns and Public Affairs Manager

MPs To Watch

Following the election result, CaSE worked rapidly to compile our much-used list of MPs with a background or interest in STEMM or R&D. This list is not a comprehensive survey of parliamentarians, nor a judgment on MP’s worth, but a guide for the sector to use to identify potential advocates and allies within Westminster.

The CaSE team researched and compiled a list of over 170 MPs within days of the result. You can explore the full list here, including breakdowns of MPs with a STEMM or R&D Higher Education qualification, MPs with a prior career in STEMM or R&D, and MPs with a prior academic or university career in STEMM or R&D.

Letters to Politicians

As part of our advocacy in the run up to the 2024 General Election, we wrote to the leaders of 13 political parties. In these letters we expressed the value of UK R&D to the prosperity of the country and what it means to the public. We also asked for responses detailing how their parties will deliver for R&D.

Political Party Manifesto Analysis

We analysed the manifestos of the four largest parties (Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party) as well as three other parties (The Green Party, Plaid Cymru and Reform UK).

The combination of our policy and public opinion work enabled us to do some really exciting new things in the run up to and immediately after the Election, including engaging Parliamentary Candidates with insights about their constituency and our important advocacy work.

Dr Daniel Rathbone
Deputy Executive Director

R&D Sector Joint Statement

At CaSE we want R&D to be a community that continuously seeks new ways to collaborate towards a shared strategic vision. One of the ways we strive to do this is by convening and delivering a shared voice for the science and engineering and wider R&D sector at key moments.

In March this year, we led in the production and publication of a cross sector call for the UK to be a leading country in the G7 on R&D investment. This statement, authored by 11 prominent organisations and signed by 26 of our members and partners in the sector, set out a clear united position on the value and importance of UK R&D.

Our hope was that this statement would provide a foundation from which we could build our individual policy platforms in the general election year, and demonstrate to policy makers that although we have our own areas of focus, we all agree on a united fundamental position.

This project is a clear demonstration of CaSE’s convening power, and provided a prime opportunity to integrate some of our public opinion insights into a policy position.

CaSE Manifesto for Science and Engineering

We published a manifesto for science and engineering, which set out CaSE’s vision for how the next Government should commit to using research and innovation as the route to improving people’s lives and livelihoods in the UK. In the manifesto, we called on the next Government to commit to invest in R&D for the long-term, support the skills the UK needs, maximise the local economic impact of that investment and support the environment for business R&D.

This General Election year represented a real opportunity for the R&D sector to make our voices heard.

During the campaign period, we continued with our strong advocacy work with a focus on ambitious and sustainable R&D funding, people and skills including immigration, business investment in R&D, and regional R&D investment.

Dr Camilla d'Angelo
Policy Manager

People and Skills

The science base is as strong as the people in it

Attracting and developing diverse R&D talent and skills is essential if the UK is to become a more research-intensive economy. It is also important to create a more open, diverse and inclusive research workforce. We work with our members and the R&D community to develop policy recommendations that will help ensure the UK has a diverse and talented skills base to meet the requirements of an R&D-intensive economy. This includes work on primary education, further and higher education, diversity and immigration. Here are some highlights of our work in this area from the last year:

Immigration and Visa Costs

Over this year immigration to the UK was a topic of much discussion in politics, in the media, and in wider society, with many calling for a reduction in net migration. Like many others, the research sector, and our membership, rely on skilled immigration to support our endeavours and allow international collaboration, an essential component of the research system. As such, CaSE has followed political developments closely and advocated for positions that will support the sector and the workforce it relies on.

Letter to the Times

In August 2023, in the face of planned increases to the cost of acquiring a visa to work in the UK, CaSE wrote a letter to the Times discussing the increases to the immigration health surcharge, and drawing attention to the potential disparity between the UK and other similar countries.

Immigration briefing

Over the last year the UK immigration and visa system has seen changes that have increased upfront costs and restricted eligibility criteria for overseas workers and their dependents. CaSE published a briefing which looked closely at the detail of the changes, the impact they are having or are anticipated to have on the R&D sector, and proposed a series of recommendations for a healthier and more productive system.

In addition, we have also analysed and responded to various developments over the course of the year. In response to the Migratory Advisory Committee (MAC) report on the Graduate Route visa, CaSE wrote letters to the Home Secretary and Shadow Home Secretary, encouraging them to support the recommendation to retain the Graduate Route visa. CaSE also submitted evidence to the Education Committee Inquiry on International Students in English Universities, emphasising the impact of recent visa changes on the financial sustainability of universities.

UK R&D is only as strong as the people involved in it, and so it is vital that the UK nurtures and attracts the best talent. This year, CaSE has advocated strongly for a healthy visa and immigration system that draws in the best researchers and supports R&D’s international mobility and collaboration. We were pleased to see our calls to accept the recommendations of the Migratory Advisory Committee report on the Graduate Route visa be acted on and will continue to raise the issue of high upfront visa fees and its impact on R&D going forward.

Dr Florence Young
Policy Officer

Investment

Research and innovation are essential to solving the societal challenges facing the UK and the wider world.

We work with our members and the R&D community to make a compelling case to secure high levels of investment in research and innovation and to champion the role of science and engineering in improving people’s lives and livelihoods. We scrutinise how R&D investments are made, to deliver value for the tax-payer and a dynamic economy. This includes work on public and private R&D investment, the UK’s research intensity and the UK’s participation in international research programmes such as Horizon Europe.

Economic Analysis

We have launched a new collaboration with the British Academy, commissioning Cambridge Econometrics and Fathom Consulting to undertake complementary economic analyses, using creative approaches to deepen our understanding of economic returns of R&D. These analyses will generate a better understanding of the relationship between R&D and productivity growth, and contribute to strengthening the evidence base for the development of policies to support and promote innovation.

ONS statistics on R&D expenditure

Each time the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published their latest figures for R&D expenditure in the UK in 2022, CaSE analysed how the new data impacted ongoing trends in R&D investment. This included analysis of gross expenditure on R&D (GERD), business enterprise research and development (BERD), and government expenditure on R&D (GovERD). Overall, we see a stagnating picture for R&D investment with cash increases in R&D expenditure not keeping pace with inflation. With much of the cash increase in GERD being driven by an increase in BERD, building and maintaining an attractive environment for R&D-intensive UK businesses will be crucial, which we’ve explored in detail in our report, Backing Business R&D.

Consultation Responses

CaSE has analysed various Government budgets and announcements throughout the year, looking at their implications for R&D. This included responses to the “Autumn Statement for Growth”, the ‘Spring Budget for Long-term Growth’, and the King’s Speech outlining the new Government’s legislative agenda.

CaSE has been monitoring trends in R&D investment closely this year, spotlighting a concerning stagnation in real-terms investment, with high inflation outpacing annual cash increases. We are continuing to work with both our members and the wider R&D community to make a compelling case to secure high levels of investment in research and innovation. We’ve got lots of exciting work on the horizon, including some upcoming economic analyses that CaSE co-commissioned with the British Academy, so watch this space!

Dr Florence Young
Policy Officer

Media Engagement and Communications

Appearances in the Media

One of the key avenues of communication for CaSE is through the news media. In the last year we have worked consistently with major national outlets such as the BBC, Financial Times, and The Times, we have also worked very productively with R&D trade publications, notably Research Fortnight.

Members of the CaSE team have made at least 65 appearances in the national news media, including 3 open editorials and letters written by our staff, as well as a series of broadcast interviews surrounding the news of Horizon Europe association.

For a small charity we consistently punch above our weight and achieve huge impact. In the last year we have seen major media coverage of our takes on developing stories, and regularly work with some of the country’s top journalists to help them cover important science policy issues.

As a campaigning organisation, our ability to engage our stakeholders and communicate with our desired audiences is a core part of all of the work we do. Our membership gives us an incredibly privileged position from which to speak with authority on the issues that matter most, and to get our message in front of the right people.

Andy Hawkes
Communications Manager

Social Media Impact

In the last year CaSE has worked to maintain an active social media presence and engage widely across our stakeholder groups. In particular we have worked to continue to grow our LinkedIn following, a platform we are are focussing on given the current uncertain nature of the social media landscape. This year our LinkedIn following has doubled in size to just over 2,000 followers. We continue to see regularly high levels of engagement and click through from our social media activity.

Using Our Expert Voice

As a UK wide organisation we work hard to ensure that we engage with members and other stakeholders from around the country. As such, this year we have attended events at the devolved parliaments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as numerous other engagements across the whole of the UK.

Over the last year CaSE staff have been regularly invited to offer their insight at panel events and speaking engagements. These include sessions hosted by the Royal Society, GuildHE, the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), and UKSPA  (United Kingdom Science Park Association). Our team have also held a significant number of individual meetings with members and collaborators, and contributed their expertise to consultations and advisory groups for many of those organisations.

CaSE has responded to Parliamentary inquiries and consultations on a number of topics, including the House of Commons Education Committee inquiry on ‘International students in English universities’, and the Spring Budget 2024.

CaSE Events

CaSE organises a number of science policy events throughout the year, including our Annual Lecture, report launches, and partnering with our members and the sector on other events.

Here you can explore some of this years highlights:

Annual Lecture 2023

The 2023 CaSE Annual Lecture was given by Prof Dame Angela McLean on Tuesday 21st November.

It was fantastic to bring together over 150 people from across the sector at the Science Museum to hear from Prof Dame Angela McLean, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA), and discuss the importance of evidence in policy making.

Following Dame Angela’s lecture, where she outlined her four priorities for her time as Government Chief Science Adviser, there was a lively question and answer session.

Prof Dame Angela McLean answering questions following her lecture

CaSE and Learned Society of Wales Lecture – Cardiff 2024

At the start of May, CaSE hosted a lecture by Professor Wendy Larner in central Cardiff in collaboration with the Learned Society of Wales (LSW).

We were delighted to partner with LSW, a long standing CaSE member, to run this event, and to have the lecture given by Professor Wendy Larner, who took up the post of President and Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University in September 2023.

It was fantastic to hear from newly elected LSW fellow Professor Wendy Larner about her vision for Cardiff University, how the university sits within the industrial and geographical context of Wales, and the challenges facing the university sector as a whole.

Prof Wendy Larner delivering her lecture in Cardiff Castle

CaSE Backing Business R&D Report Launch

On Tuesday 21 May CaSE held an event to launch our report Backing Business R&D.

We gathered our members and collaborators in London at the Euston Impact Hub for the launch which was the culmination of nine months of research by the CaSE policy team looking at building a better environment for business R&D in the UK.

The evening featured a keynote address by Dr Dave Smith, National Technology Adviser at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Dave was joined by fellow speaker Stéphane Maikovsky, Interim CEO at LifeArc, who sponsored the project.

Dr Dave Smith answering audience questions following his address

Science, Innovation, and Technology – General Election Hustings

On Wednesday 19th June CaSE and partners organised a Science, Innovation and Technology hustings ahead of the General Election.

The event, hosted at The Royal Society, was organised by CaSE, The Royal Society, The British Academy, The Academy of Medical Sciences, The Royal Academy of Engineering, and the The Foundation for Science and Technology.

Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat representatives went head-to-head as they discussed their party’s policies on science and technology.

Viscount Camrose (Conservative), Chi Onwurah (Labour) and Lord Tim Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat), chaired by science writer and columnist Anjana Ahuja

Membership

CaSE’s independence and expertise comes from being funded by a membership of hundreds organisations and individual researchers.

Our members are part of a dedicated collective, working to ensure that the UK has world-leading research and education, skilled scientists and engineers, and innovative businesses.

I love a good election, they are exciting and just have an energy!

As an election year, it has been a busy and important time for CaSE. The opportunity to raise the profile or R&D has been huge and we’ve worked hard to find new and exciting ways to do that.

Throughout all that work, we’ve had a real focus on our members and how we can promote them through all our plans and activities. So, a big thank you for all our members support and input over the last year.

This year is already looking to be exciting, as we provide a space for new and long-standing MPs to find out more about R&D in their local area. Our members make all this work possible, so we hope you will continue to support and be a part of our work over the coming year.

Henry Gates
Director of Sector Engagement

Individual Members

We would like to thank our individual members for their generous support over the past year, allowing us to retain our independence and continue campaigning for a thriving science and engineering environment in the UK. Individual members receive event invitations, regular updates on our work, and opportunities to engage. You can also make a one-off donation.

Organisational Members

Our organisational members have opportunities to influence our messaging and gain policy insight through exclusive events, consultations, surveys, reports and meetings. Members also enjoy priority booking at our public events, including the Annual Lecture, and the opportunity to partner with us on relevant work, such as co-authoring reports, sponsoring or hosting events.

Who are our Members?

UK science and engineering is a rich ecosystem from across the private, public and third sector. We are proud to count 110 of these organisations in the CaSE membership, including businesses, universities, colleges, research institutes, professional bodies, public engagement centres, trade unions, venture capital firms, and research charities.

Universities and Institutions

Our academic members include universities from across the UK as well as centres of research excellence

Charities

The charities in our membership are some of the biggest research focused charities in the UK

Industry

Our industry members cover the breadth of research and innovation landscape in the UK

Learned & Professional Societies

Along with a wide range of learned and professional societies, we have a number of public engagement centres in our membership.

Our Organisation

Finances

CaSE’s financial year runs from April to March, as such this section of the Annual Review addresses April 2023-March 2024. CaSE continues to be a financially resilient organisation that effectively manages its resources.

Our income from membership, sponsorship and gifts in kind was £417,163. In May 2021 we were awarded a grant of more than £1m by Wellcome to fund the three-year Discovery Decade project, in 2023-24 we received an additional £330,389 from Wellcome to extend this grant to the end of December 2024. In 2023-24, £289,358 of the grant was used to cover the staffing and activity costs of the Discovery Decade project. In December 2023 we were awarded a grant of £108,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to extend our Public Opinion programme of work to develop data-led public messaging on the value of UK-based R&D with a global impact. CaSE’s total expenditure was £744,414.

Staffing

This year was a time of great change for CaSE as our Executive Director of 10 years Sarah Main left the organisation to take up a new role at global publisher Elsevier. Sarah’s positive impact on CaSE was huge. In her tenure the organisation reached new heights and navigated challenging periods of change. Sarah left the organisation in a healthy position, with a clear strategy and vision for the coming years. During the search for Sarah’s replacement, Deputy Executive Director Daniel Rathbone stood as Interim Executive Director.

Commenting on the announcement of Sarah Main's departure:

CaSE’s influence and success is in no small part due to the contributions of Sarah Main. For over 10 years, Sarah has driven some of CaSE’s biggest wins and helped the organisation navigate some very challenging working circumstances. Sarah has shaped CaSE into the robust and influential organisation it is today, closely connected to its membership. Sarah has been an inspirational leader and I have the greatest respect for her calm and well thought through views on a range of policy issues which she articulates so eloquently. Personally I will miss her wise counsel and the pleasure of working with her over a number of years, as I know her colleagues will also.

On behalf of my fellow Trustees, and the CaSE staff, I would like to thank Sarah for her dedication and hard work, and wish her great luck and success in her new position.

I am delighted that Daniel Rathbone, our current Deputy Executive Director, will be taking over the reins as Interim Executive Director. CaSE will be in very safe hands whilst we work to appoint Sarah’s permanent successor.

Dr Bob Sorrell
CaSE Chair

In April we were delighted to welcome Alicia Greated as our new Executive Director. Alicia has extensive experience of leadership in the R&D sector, including as CEO of the Knowledge Transfer Network, and through her work for the UK Research Councils. She was founder and Director of Research Council UK (RCUK) India at the British High Commission in Delhi, and Director RCUK China at the British Embassy in Beijing. She also worked as acting Director of Research for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and was Head of Engineering at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Continuing the trend from the end of 2022/23 review period, CaSE has grown further as an organisation, welcoming Florence Young into the role of Policy Officer, and Lynne Milford as Campaigns and Public Affairs Manager.

This year also saw promotions and job title changes for existing staff members, Rebecca Hill is now Advocacy and Engagement Manager, and Camilla d’Angelo is now Policy Manager.

With all major roles now filled by permanent members of staff CaSE is in an excellent position to work on our priorities and execute our strategy.

Governance

This year we welcomed two new additions to the CaSE Board, Bryony Butland, Director Research and Innovation, Queen Mary University London, and Helen Ewles, Head of Innovation, Analysis and Public Affairs, Royal Academy of Engineering. Upon completing his term, Jeremy Clayton stood down from the Board, we thank him for his hard work and commitment to CaSE. The process to continue recruiting new Board Members with a diversity of experience and expertise is underway.

This year at CaSE has been fast-paced and exciting, not least due to the early elections and the arrival of Alicia Greated as our new Executive Director.

Despite the pressure, our team has once again demonstrated our ability to thrive under demanding circumstances, showcasing the strength of our transparent and collaborative working culture.

Nesh Ismail
Office Manager

Our ambitions for a year with a new Government and the next phase of CaSE's evolution

We want science and engineering to have its voice heard in public discourse, ensuring that political ambitions for the sector are matched by effective policy making, something which is more important than ever in the build up to a General Election.

As our 2022-29 strategy sets out, we will collaborate with our members, partners and the public to lend our clear, expert voice to decisions about science and engineering. By offering responsive and non-partisan solutions, we aim to help research and innovation thrive in a way that improves people’s lives and livelihoods.

Spending Review

Advocating for decisions in the Spending Review that provide the support the sector needs from Government in the long term

Public Opinion

Building on the success of our Discovery Decade programme, CaSE working to secure longer-term funding for our Public Opinion work, given it has proven its value to the R&D sector

Political Engagment

Work with policymakers and advocates across the political spectrum to put R&D at the heart of conversations about the the UK’s future

Membership

CaSE’s strength comes from our members, we will continue to put their voices at the heart of policy discussions and bring their diverse expertise into all aspects of our advocacy