Established in 2024, the UK Metascience Unit is a small team of policymakers, analysts and funding delivery specialists who work across UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The unit is co-led by Dr Jen Gold and Dr Ben Steyn.
All our work starts from a simple idea: that the scientific method, so powerful in so many areas of life, should be systematically and routinely applied to how we practice, fund and support science itself.
We have a growing cohort of 70+ projects including:
Multi-million-pound grant schemes, contracts, and fellowship programmes to cultivate a thriving UK metascience field, generating evidence to inform a wide range of research policy topics.
In-house experiments on UKRI's funding processes.
Our focus 2026–28 is 'Science Systems in an AI Age', which includes:
Research peer review, evaluation and decision-making in an age of AI
Efficient and scalable human review to address rising application volumes (e.g. distributed peer review)
Testing feasibility and effectiveness of AI in assessment processes (e.g. grant, journal, national and sub-national portfolio evaluation)
Enhancing UKRI's internal data and analytical infrastructure to guide decision-making
Building the 'Science of AI4Science': How is AI changing science?
National AI for Research Survey
Dedicated Fellowships and Grant calls
Scientometrics: advancing the state of the art, while critically examining, quantitative measures of research quality beyond citations. E.g. indicators of novelty, impact, or rigour.
Funding Opportunities
Unfortunately, no funding opportunities are currently open, but see the links below for an idea of the sorts of schemes we typically run.
Rosa Filgueira, University of Edinburgh [Project co-lead (UK)]; Christopher Daley, London School of Economics and Political Science [Project lead]
2
Michael Thelwall
Gloria Iyawa, University of Salford [Project co-lead (UK)]; Michael Thelwall, University of Sheffield [Project lead]; Petr Knoth, The Open University [Project co-lead (UK)]; Francesco Osborne, The Open University [Project co-lead (UK)]
3
Robert de Vries
Margherita Negri, University of St Andrews [Project co-lead (UK)]; Robert de Vries, University of Kent [Project lead]; Gary Chapman, University of Nottingham [Project co-lead (UK)]; Jackie Thompson, University of Oxford [Project co-lead (UK)]; Aderinkola Alabi, Anglia Ruskin University [Project co-lead (UK)]
4
Rhodri Leng
Rhodri Leng, University of Edinburgh [Project lead]; George Richardson, Nesta [Project co-lead (UK)]; Christopher Edgar, Nesta [Specialist]
5
Rosa Filgueira
Gemma Derrick, University of Bristol [Project co-lead (UK)]; Alexandru Marcoci, University of Cambridge [Project co-lead (UK)]; Rosa Filgueira, University of Edinburgh [Project lead]; Angelo Salatino, The Open University [Project co-lead (UK)]; ZHOU Zhou, University of Cambridge [Research and innovation associate]; Sarah Callaghan, University of Oxford [Project co-lead (UK)]
Coming soon.
Click a project title to read more.
We have been conducting in-house experiments on UKRI's funding policies, for instance:
Project
Click a project title to read more.
The Unit has forged a long-term partnership with a consortium of researchers led by RAND Europe, the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, and the Policy Institute at King's College London, under the leadership of RAND's Dr Susan Guthrie.
Through the consortium, we have a number of projects, including:
Project
Meet the Team
Unit Leadership
Dr Jen Gold
Co-Lead, UK Metascience Unit
Director of Research, ESRC / UKRI
Dr Ben Steyn
Co-Lead, UK Metascience Unit
Head of Metascience, DSIT
Unit Members
Jack Leahy
DSIT
Lauren Curtis
ESRC / UKRI
Dr Lucy Gresley
ESRC / UKRI
Dr Cillian Brophy
ESRC / UKRI
Grant Delivery Support
Chiaki Beis
ESRC / UKRI
Louise Thomas
ESRC / UKRI
Programme Board
Since Jan 2024, the Metascience programme has been governed by a joint DSIT/UKRI Board, co-chaired by ESRC Executive Chair Stian Westlake and DSIT Dir. Science, Research and Innovation, Holly Yates.
Technical Support Consortium
The Unit has forged a long-term partnership with a consortium of researchers led by RAND Europe, the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, and the Policy Institute at King's College London, under the leadership of Dr Susan Guthrie. They support the design, delivery, and quality assurance of many of the Unit's studies.
Get in Touch
If you are a policymaker, funder, researcher or industry actor interested in collaborating with us, or being connected to any of our partners and grant awardees, please get in touch.
Views expressed here are diverse provocations for the Metascience community and do not necessarily reflect official stances of DSIT, UKRI or its policy teams.
Why are the Metascience Unit investing in Scientometrics?
