Accelerating Transformative Research on Research Systems, Cultures and Decision-Making

In 2023, James Wilsdon joined the University College London's Department of Science, Technology, Engineering & Public Policy as Professor of Research Policy. From there, he also directs the Research on Research Institute, which he co-founded in 2019 to accelerate transformative research on research systems, cultures and decision-making. The institute’s consortium includes research funders from fifteen countries. 

Since the late-1990s, as a researcher, writer, adviser and campaigner, Wilsdon has been at the heart of science and research policy in both the UK and internationally. In addition to academic posts at the universities of Sheffield, Sussex and Lancaster, he has been involved in think tanks, NGOs and - as Director of Science Policy - the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences.

In 2015 and 2022, respectively, Wilsdon was elected a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences and of the International Science Council. He’s also a Research Associate of the latter’s Centre for Science Futures.