AI investment to transform global policy with scientific evidence

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced funding for a landmark investment to revolutionise how scientific evidence and research is synthesised and delivered to policymakers in the UK and worldwide.

Mobilising evidence through artificial intelligence (AI) and user-informed synthesis (METIUS) is a new infrastructure.

It aims to harness cutting-edge AI to dramatically improve the speed, relevance and accessibility of evidence synthesis for decision-makers tackling urgent challenges.

Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said:

The challenge for policymakers is often in sourcing the specific information they need from troves of research, rather than a lack of available evidence.

This UK-led project will use AI to pinpoint the information researchers need, and quickly, to improve outcomes in everything from education to justice, climate change to international development, which ultimately benefits us all.

Strengthen the UK's position in research

Stian Westlake, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Executive Chair, said:

AI has enormous potential to turn a mass of diffuse research into synthesised, useful summaries, which can help policy makers and practitioners deliver better outcomes for citizens.

This new infrastructure investment has the potential to transform how evidence informs policy decisions, and strengthen the UK's position as a leader in research and innovation, driving economic growth and improving lives.

METIUS is funded by UKRI through ESRC and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) with co-funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

International collaboration

UKRI is spearheading a global alliance of partners, including the United Nations (UN), that has now committed $126 million to catalyse the production and use of 'living evidence synthesis'.

This real-time aggregation of the latest scientific research will accelerate progress on the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs).

Shared strategic priorities

Andrea Cook, Executive Director of the UN Sustainable Development Group System-wide Evaluation Office, said:

Access to high-quality, timely evidence is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

This initiative represents an important step forward in bridging the gap between research and policy, enabling more effective and evidence-informed decision-making globally.

The total $126 million represents combined investments from the following where the funders are aligned around shared strategic priorities:

• ESRC
• NERC
• Wellcome Trust
• DSIT
• Jacobs Foundation
• Health Research Board Ireland
• National Institute for Health Research

Bridging the evidence-policy gap

Too often, world-class research fails to reach people making critical decisions.

Despite the wealth of scientific research being produced globally, policymakers often struggle to access relevant, timely and digestible evidence when making decisions.

Recent analysis commissioned by ESRC and the Government Office for Science shows that UKRI investments alone could address 81% of priority evidence gaps identified by UK government departments.

This infrastructure will address this critical gap by combining AI capabilities with human expertise to transform how evidence is synthesised, analysed and communicated to policymakers at unprecedented speed and scale.

Transforming evidence synthesis through technology

The METIUS consortium is led by Queen's University Belfast in collaboration with the Campbell Collaboration, the Pan-African Collective for Evidence, University College London and several other universities.

The consortium will deliver a step-change in global evidence capabilities by:

• developing and deploying a powerful integrated approach combining AI capabilities with human expertise to produce evidence syntheses more rapidly, accurately and cost-effectively
• creating innovative tools to translate complex evidence into accessible formats for policymakers
• delivering a series of exemplar projects on policy areas of national and international importance, including education, crime and justice, climate, environment and society, and international development
• strengthening global capacity for evidence-informed policymaking

Supporting global goals and national priorities

By working closely with the UN, this global infrastructure will accelerate progress towards achieving the UN SDGs.

The infrastructure will provide policymakers with the most relevant, high-quality evidence to inform decisions on pressing challenges from climate change and energy security to economic growth and social inequalities.

The investment also aligns with the UK government's missions to drive economic growth through innovation and harness the potential of AI, ensuring the safe and ethical development of new technologies.

Global alliance

This UKRI initiative establishes an anchor investment in the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC).

United by a shared vision to close the gap between research and action in the face of complex national and global challenges, this global alliance brings together:

• governments
• research funders
• evidence producers
• over 50 multilateral organisations

Co-founded with the Wellcome Trust and supported by a growing coalition of philanthropic and government funders, the alliance is building a distributed AI-enabled infrastructure dedicated to living evidence synthesis.

Building on the UK's commitment

The initiative will build on the UK's commitment made at the September 2024 UN Summit of the Future to use science and digital technologies to accelerate progress towards the SDGs.

ESRC has announced a further £6 million 'challenge fund' to support new collaborations with research funders that further the aims of ESIC.

This includes an exemplar project with the Jacobs Foundation dedicated to improving access to evidence on effective approaches to improving educational outcomes and equity in classrooms.

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