The Chief Executive is each Research Councils’ senior officer and Deputy Chair of the Research Council. They are appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for a period of three to five years.
The Chief Executive is responsible to the governing Council for the overall direction and management of Council staff and other resources.
Key roles are:
- to provide leadership both in relation to scientific research and in the direction and management of the Council and to develop dialogue and partnerships with its research and user communities and related national and international organisations to inform the development of strategy;
- to develop proposals for both the Strategic Plan and Delivery Plan and to lead the implementation of a programme of work to deliver the Council’s agreed plans; and
- to act as the Accounting Officer for the Council responsible for the effective, safe and efficient operation of the Council, according to the objects in its Charter, guidance from the Department and the decisions of Council.
Each of the Chief Executives is also a member of the Research Councils UK Executive Group which is responsible for optimising the ways in which Research Councils together.
The current Research Council chief executives are:
AHRC - Professor Rick Rylance
BBSRC - Professor Douglas Kell
EPSRC - Professor David Delpy
ESRC - Professor Ian Diamond
MRC - Sir Leszek Borysiewicz
NERC - Professor Alan Thorpe
STFC - Professor Keith Mason