2026 Holyrood and Senedd elections

CaSE are using the opportunity offered by the elections in Scotland and Wales to raise the profile of R&D and forge stronger connections with politicians in Holyrood and the Senedd.

R&D can improve lives and livelihoods – but only if the public and policymakers see its full potential and support investment into it. The world-leading R&D taking place in Scotland and Wales is a crucial component in maintaining a thriving UK R&D sector and ensuring benefits to society and local economies are felt across all nations.

The 2026 Holyrood and Senedd elections offer the R&D sector an opportunity to nurture a new cohort of supporters among elected representatives in Scotland and Wales. These elections come amid a shifting political landscape; there is an urgent need to proactively engage all new parliamentarians and positively influence their attitudes towards Scotland and Wales’s R&D sectors.

R&D in a shifting voter landscape

A new evidence-led review exploring how shifts across the full breadth of the voter landscape might affect R&D advocacy, providing practical insights and messaging guidance for R&D advocates to use through the 2026 party conferences and beyond.

Explore

01 September 2025

Project launch

October 2025

Workshops: Exploring the political landscape and public priority issues in Scotland and Wales

20 February 2026

Case study submission deadline

30 March 2026

Launch of Public Attitudes to R&D in Scotland and Wales 2026 and candidate email campaign

Explore the results

29 April 2026

Analysis: What do Scotland and Wales’s 2026 party manifestos mean for R&D?

07 May 2026

Holyrood and Senedd elections polling day

July

Campaign to demonstrate the value of R&D to all politicians elected to Holyrood and the Senedd

Our sponsors

April 2026

What do Scotland and Wales’s 2026 party manifestos mean for R&D?

CaSE takes a look at what the 2026 manifestos of political parties for the Holyrood and Senedd elections could mean for R&D.

Explore

March 2026

Launch of public opinion research and email campaign to candidates

CaSE has published the results of its new study, Public Attitudes to R&D in Scotland and Wales 2026, which explores at unprecedented depth how people in Scotland and Wales think and feel about R&D, and politically salient issues, ahead of the May 2026 Holyrood and Senedd elections.

CaSE has used these insights to produce a set of Guides to R&D on the Doorstep for candidates in both nations, and has shared this – alongside bespoke insights from new constituency-level analysis – with all candidates, urging them to support R&D, start conversations in their communities and engage with local R&D organisations.

Read the results Read the Guide to R&D on the Scottish Doorstep Read the Guide to R&D on the Welsh Doorstep

Watch the CaSE team take you through the findings:

January 2026

Call for local R&D case studies for Scotland and Wales

We are asking our members and the wider sector for examples of the people and places doing R&D in Scotland and Wales. This is a fantastic way to showcase the benefits of your R&D to the new cohort of MSPs and MSs.

We welcome case studies about the work carried out by your whole organisation, a single site, partnership or member organisation, or about a specific research project with ties to Scottish or Welsh communities.

These case studies will be featured in Welcome Packs and/or on the CaSE website, and run alongside a call for MSPs/MSs to visit or engage with the initiatives showcased.

Submit a case study

October 2025

Exploring the political landscape and public priority issues in Scotland and Wales

A summary of two workshops CaSE held with sponsors and stakeholders in Wales and Scotland as part of our work to raise the profile of R&D in Holyrood and the Senedd.

August 2025

Building support for R&D at the 2026 Holyrood and Senedd elections

CaSE plans to use the opportunity offered by the upcoming elections in Scotland and Wales to raise the profile of R&D and forge stronger connections with politicians in Holyrood and the Senedd.

2024

General Election: Championing R&D through public opinion research

CaSE ran a successful campaign to build and strengthen connections with the new cohort of MPs around the 2024 General Election.

Find out more