The Royal Society

The Royal Society is the world’s oldest scientific academy in continuous existence, and has been at the forefront of enquiry and discovery since its foundation in 1660. The backbone of the Society is its Fellowship of the most eminent scientists of the day, elected by peer review for life and entitled to use FRS after their name. There are currently more than 60 Nobel Laureates amongst the Society’s approximately “1,400” Fellows and Foreign Members.

Today, scientific advice to underpin policy is more important than ever before. From neuroscience to nanotechnology, food security to climate change, the questions being asked of scientists by policy makers, the media and the public continue to multiply. Many of the issues are global in nature, and require international collaboration, not just amongst policy makers, but also between scientists.

Our support enabled the Royal Society to establish a Science Policy Centre in order to strengthen the independent voice of science in UK, European and international policy. It champions the contribution that science and innovation can make to economic prosperity, quality of life and environmental sustainability, and makes the Royal Society a hub for debate about science, society and public policy.

The Society’s policy work comes in a variety of forms, such as workshops, seminars, briefing meetings, summaries, statements, major reports and consultations. Although the outputs vary, the end goal is the same – to provide independent advice, based on the best scientific evidence available, to those determining policy.