What is the NRO Group?

The National Research Organisations (NRO) Group is an alliance of around 40 UK science and research centres. Together, we form an ecosystem dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of people, communities, the economy, planet, and national resilience. As a trusted voice of UK scientific research, the NRO Group provides a unified and authoritative perspective on science, policy, and research investment – making research matter.

A strategic need for the NRO Group

Recent reviews of the UK research landscape revealed fragmentation and a need for clearer governance and strategic alignment. The reviews also identified significant opportunities to raise the visibility and utilisation of national research organisations, ensuring their unique capabilities deliver maximum impact. The NRO Group was created to unlock this potential – bringing coherence, collaboration, and strategic focus to UK research.

Our Mission

By 2030, the NRO Group will be an indispensable strategic partner for Government, UKRI, academia, and industry to make research matter - driving economic growth, improving lives, and strengthening national security and resilience. We will:

• Deliver measurable impact against Government priorities
• Align research objectives with national priorities
• Raise the visibility and utilisation of NROs
• Secure sustainable funding
• Generate new knowledge and insights
• Foster innovation, collaboration, and skills development
• Build public trust and strengthen the visibility of UK science globally

Participant Organisations

The NRO Group represents research organisations that provide unique national and international capabilities. Their principal purpose is to engage in curiosity driven and focused, thematic and directed full-time research, from searching for new antibiotics to the clean jet engines of the future.

The NROs are either fully or partly separate from universities, are research intensive and at least partly benefit from public funding. Many of the organisations engage in advanced level teaching, education and training but this is not their primary role. They include:

What We Do

The NRO Group simplifies engagement between government, industry, academia, funding partners, and research organisations—acting as a single point of access to UK scientific expertise and infrastructure. We connect the dots across the research ecosystem, bridging foundational discovery and real-world application to deliver impact for society.

• the NRO research and innovation landscape to identify capabilities and opportunities.
• Act as a trusted single port of call for government, industry, and funding partners seeking scientific expertise and infrastructure.
• Simplify engagement between research organisations and stakeholders to reduce complexity and improve collaboration.
• Providing a unified and authoritative perspective on science, policy, and research investment
• Deliver impact for society by aligning research with national priorities and enabling innovation.

Strategic Value to the UK

As the voice of UK research, we support Government and the wider research ecosystem by aligning research capabilities with priorities such as climate resilience, health security, and technological innovation – while safeguarding sovereign research assets.

Governance and Independence

The NRO Group has established a strong operating model and governance to ensure strategic oversight and member representation. This includes a Steering Group, Executive Group and Secretariat.

The NRO Group provides a resilient structure to support research organisations, ensuring science remains independent, credible, and impactful. Membership is formalised through the NRO Memorandum of Understanding and associated agreements.

Contact Us