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Global Science & Innovation Forum (GSIF)

The Global Science & Innovation Forum (GSIF) is a vehicle for cross-government exchanges of information and ideas to improve co-ordination of the UK effort in international science and innovation collaboration. It provides strategic guidance and systematically scans the horizon for new and emerging issues.

The current GSIF membership and Terms of Reference can be found under related links. 

The Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-1014 (HMT, 2004) charged GSIF with the design and implementation of the UK's Global Science and Innovation Strategy for international engagement in science and technology. This is a key element of the current activity of GSIF.

A Strategy for international engagement in research and development

The overarching objective of the GSIF strategy is for the UK to be the partner of choice for global business looking to locate Research and Development (R&D) activities overseas, and for foreign universities seeking overseas collaboration.

Published 23 October 2006, the strategy fulfils a commitment under the Science and Innovation Investment Framework. It responds to the increasing importance of international science and innovation for the UK and for addressing global challenges.

The strategy sets out, for the first time, a framework of objectives to prioritise and coordinate the UK’s international engagement in R&D:

  • Research excellence - collaborating with the highest quality research internationally and attracting the best scientists to work in and collaborate with the UK.
  • Excellence in innovation – encouraging UK companies to engage in international research and international companies to invest in UK research.
  • Influence – using science and technology to underpin international policy making and as a tool to foster bilateral partnerships
  • Development – using research and innovation in support of international development goals

The strategy demonstrates that the UK starts from a position of strength: a world-leading research base and at the forefront of many international research endeavours; highly attractive and open to overseas researchers and to international companies R&D investments; offering a wide range of schemes and programmes to support international collaboration.

While the UK performs well, the strategy provides seven recommendations for further improvements in the following areas:

  • Ensuring UK researchers and businesses engage with the very best research internationally, through simplified access to public support schemes and consolidating the UK presence in key partner countries
  • Developing strategic partnerships, through new schemes to link world class UK universities with counterparts in China and India, and to attract the best researchers to the UK and managing alumni effectively
  • Improving coordination to create synergies across government and key non-governmental bodies - in bilateral relationships with priority countries, in marketing and communicating UK strengths, and in promoting scientific advice in international policy making.
  • Supporting activities to increase the innovative nature of UK business - ensuring it has the capacity to internationalise and access to the very best science, engineering and technology opportunities worldwide; and increasing the research intensity of the UK by encouraging R&D investment in the UK by innovative multinational enterprises.


Evidence projects

The following projects were externally contracted and provided data and analysis from which the strategy is being developed, a brief description is given below and links to the full reports are on the right:

  • UK Performance in International Engagement in Science and Innovation
    To identify performance metrics for UK international engagement in science and innovation, together with comparisons with other countries, to identify how the UK relates to its international competitors in collaborative R&D highlight the case for action and identify gaps in performance data and analysis
  • Drivers, Barriers and Benefits of International Engagement in Science and Innovation
    To assess the barriers and drivers for international partnership and identify how the benefits can be maximised.  Prioritise issues to address, provide case study and statistical evidence of their existence and impact, and present preliminary conclusions on measures which may be practical for UK adoption.

What will happen next

GSIF is now developing implementations plans for the strategy recommendations and a work programme for 2006-07 - further details will be published here.


For further information please contact the GSIF Secretariat:

Rob Thornes
International Directorate
Office of Science and Innovation
Tel: 44 (0)20 7215 3418
Fax: 44 (0)20 7215 0054
E-mail: robert.thornes@dti.gsi.gov.uk

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