The Office of Science and Technology (OST), later (briefly) named the Office of Science and Innovation, was a

non-ministerial government department Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of department of the United Kingdom government that deal with matters for which direct political oversight has been judged unnecessary or inappropriate. They are headed by senior civil se ...

of the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

between 1992 and 2007. The office was responsible for co-ordination of the government's

science and technology Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

related activities and policies, and the distribution of some £2.4 billion among the seven

UK Research Councils Research Councils UK, sometimes known as RCUK, was a non-departmental public body which coordinated science policy in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2018. It was an umbrella organisation that coordinated the seven separate research councils t ...

. It was headed by the Chief Scientific Adviser; initially this was Sir William Stewart, then Sir Robert May (later Lord May of Oxford), and finally

Sir David King Sir David Anthony King (born 12 August 1939) is a South African-born British chemist, academic, and head of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. King first taught at Imperial College, London, the University of East Anglia, and was then Brunne ...

. The OST was originally formed in 1992 as a merger of the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser with the Science Branch of the

Department of Education and Science An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

(as it then was). Although originally run under the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

, it was moved between departments in 1995 to operate under the Department of Trade and Industry. In early 2006, the office was renamed to the Office of Science and Innovation and was subsequently absorbed into the

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the Department of Education and Skills and of the Department of Trade and Industry. Its h ...

in the Summer of 2007 when the Department for Education and Skills was split in two. The Government Chief Scientific Advisor now heads the

Government Office for Science The Government Office for Science is an science advisory group that is part of the British government. The organisation advises the UK Government on policy and decision-making based on science and long-term thinking. It is led by the Chief Scient ...

External links

Office of Science and InnovationResearch Councils UK
1992 establishments in the United Kingdom 2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Science and Innovation, Office of Innovation in the United Kingdom Science and technology in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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