Politics: Welsh R&D at a crossroads

As the nation heads to the polls, Research Professional News explores the R&D challenges ahead

Welsh science is at a turning point. Battered by the recent impacts of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s researchers are also facing longer-term challenges of persistently low R&D investment, and the second-lowest levels of productivity per person in the UK. 

“The problem in Wales is actually getting worse,” says Graeme Reid, chair of science and research policy at University College London, who authored two recent reports on R&D in Wales. “If the new Welsh government doesn’t act, it will make a difficult situation in Wales even more difficult.”