Jisc research and innovation sector strategy 2021-2023

Introduction

Never before has research been so central in guiding the direction of people’s lives and the UK research and innovation sector is increasingly agile and collaborative in responding. Within an existing context of evolving policy and funding changes, COVID-19 has placed unprecedented new demands on the sector, which correspondingly need creative approaches and new lenses to guide its collective response.

Our role in extending the deployment and reach of technologies, data and digital approaches is central to supporting the UK research and innovation sector to remain resilient, sustainable, inclusive and collaborative, and to continue to develop excellent research.

Here we set out our strategic approach to supporting the sector over the next two years. We see this strategy as a starting point and the basis on which we will continue to support research and innovation.

Strategic themes

We have identified seven key themes. The themes aim to enable us flex around them, to identify and validate the right thing at the right time for the UK research sector. The themes focus on where we are uniquely placed to act in the continued development of technology, digital and data approaches, supporting the research and innovation sector to meet its priorities.

• Supporting a new national data infrastructure for research
• UK research analytics: understanding systems, cultures, resources and decision-making
• Recording the UK’s ‘research estate’ in support of a UK-wide research capability
• Accelerating the achievement, delivery and monitoring of the journey to open research
• Applied research and knowledge exchange: supporting its commercialisation and deployment
• Rapid innovation in research management and active research
• ‘Research 4.0’: realising the art of the possible