Governance

The Research on Research Institute (RoRI) was founded in 2019 by a group of researchers, funders and data providers with a mission to accelerate transformative research on research systems, cultures and decision-making. 

Initially set up as a collaborative project, RoRI was based for most of its pilot phase (2019-2022) at the Wellcome Trust in London. 

After the completion and positive evaluation of this pilot phase, RoRI was established as a nonprofit community interest company (CIC). Its second phase is set to run for five years, to the end of 2027.

RoRI CIC is incorporated in England and Wales under company number 14404760. Its registered office is at University College London (℅ STEaPP, 4th Floor, Shropshire House, 11-20 Capper Street, London WC1E 6JA, UK).

RoRI CIC has four founding members—Digital Science; Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF); Swiss National Science Foundation and University College London (UCL). These member organisations nominate the directors who form the RoRI CIC Members Board:

• Daniel Hook (Digital Science), Director and Chair, RoRI CIC; 
• Gert V. Balling (NNF), Director, RoRI CIC and Co-Chair, RoRI Partnership Board; 
• Sarah Chaytor (UCL), Director, RoRI CIC;
• Katrin Milzow (SNSF), Director, RoRI CIC and Co-Chair, RoRI Partnership Board; 
• James Wilsdon (UCL), Director, RoRI CIC and Executive Director, RoRI.

This governance model is designed to enable RoRI to operate as a lean, flexible and independent legal entity, with a defined social purpose. You can read more about the community interest company model here and here.

As a responsive and responsible research funder, we strive to continually learn and adapt our programs to ensure maximum impact. That is why we joined RoRI: to practice evidence-informed health research funding in a way that brings national and international best practices into the British Columbia and Canadian health research systems.”

Bev Holmes, Ph.D., President and CEO, Michael Smith Health Research BC

RoRI’s strategic priorities, and the codesign and delivery of its work programme, are delegated to its Partnership Board. 

RoRI’s Partnership Board consists of nominated representatives of its Core Partners, which currently include the following organisations:

• Australian Research Council
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Centre for Science & Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University
• Digital Science 
• Dutch Research Council (NWO)
• Michael Smith Health Research BC
• FNR Luxembourg 
• Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF)
• Research England (part of UK Research and Innovation) 
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
• University College London (UCL) 
• Volkswagen Foundation 

Wellcome Trust is also a Core Partner but chooses not to sit on the Partnership Board.

RoRI’s operations are coordinated by a small core team, based at UCL in London, who manage a network of researchers and collaborators across our partner organisations. Read more about the team behind RoRI.

RoRI also has several project partners which don’t sit on our Partnership Board but work with us on one or more projects. Examples include:

• FWF-Austria