Each Research Council’s governing and senior decision making body is also called its “Council”. The Council body is responsible for setting each Research Councils’ policy, strategy and priorities. It is also accountable for the stewardship of the Council’s budget and the extent to which objectives have been delivered and targets have been met.
Each Council body typically has between 15 and 18 members drawn from the Council’s academic, business and user communities. Membership is balanced to provide expertise across a range of research disciplines and commercial and user interests. A register of declared interests is maintained.
Each Council has a part time Chair, who is paid an honorarium of £15,100 per year. The Research Council’s Chief Executive acts as the Deputy Chair of the Council.
Appointments to the Research Councils are made by Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ “Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies”. This can be found on the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments website.
Details of the current membership of the Research Councils can be viewed here:
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC)
More information on the appointments process and details of current vacancies on Research Councils can be found on the Office of Science and Innovation website.
