CaSE publishes its 2020-21 Annual Review

CaSE has published its Annual Review for the year, giving an overview of our achievements and the value we bring to the entire sector.

This year, despite political upheaval and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, CaSE has achieved real success in ensuring that the priorities for UK science and engineering are represented at the highest levels of government. We’ve put together authoritative briefings, reports and analysis that have influenced government policy-making, as well as launching new projects to further expand our expertise. We’ve led on high profile campaigns to affect real change and provided a range of benefits to members, including access to exclusive roundtables with influential stakeholders, as well as offering a valuable resource to the entire sector.

Message from the CaSE Executive Director

During what has been a challenging year for so many of us, I’m proud to say that CaSE has gone from strength to strength. Working remotely throughout the pandemic, CaSE found energy and vigour in advocating for the value of the whole, interconnected research ecosystem in the UK.

We used our reach across the full and varied breadth of science and engineering activities in the UK to reveal the effects of the pandemic on research and advocate for measures to sustain it. In addition, we pursued important programmes of work that enable us to help ensure the UK is a place where science and engineering can thrive: on science education, funding for participation in European research programmes, and the contribution of research and innovation to local economic prosperity. I am delighted that CaSE has added an important new strand to its work in exploring and building a broader base of public support for research investment.

I would like to thank all of CaSE’s members for their support over the past year, when your own circumstances may have been difficult too. With your support, CaSE has navigated the challenges it has faced and finds itself in a robust position to be a voice for science and engineering in the year ahead.  

New CaSE Chair

The Annual Review also features an introduction from the new Chair of Trustees, Dr Bob Sorrell, who was appointed at the 2020 AGM. Dr Sorrell has 30 years’ experience in science and engineering policy, as well as serving in a variety of advisory roles, and replaces Professor Graeme Reid as Chair following the expiration of his six year term.

Looking ahead to 2022

The Review also takes a look forward, setting out our ambitions for 2022 and beyond:

• Maintaining the uplift in public funding for science and research towards reaching the investment target of 2.4% of GDP in R&D by 2027
• Placing science, research and skills at the heart of government policy-making, from the ‘levelling-up’ and innovation agendas, to growing the domestic skills base and attracting overseas talent
• Taking forward the next phase of our Discovery Decade project, working with the wider sector to grow public support for R&D 
• Ensuring that the entire science and engineering sector recovers from the impact of Covid-19, so that it can play a leading role in the UK’s future growth and prosperity
• Publishing a new strategy to give CaSE a clear mission and vision for the decade
• Growing our membership to further enhance our resources, expertise and authority