The Council is an advisory board with senior representatives from Government, parliament, industry and the research community. It has a mixture of individual appointments and some ex-officio members, as set out in the Foundation's Articles of Association.

Council Members

The Rt Hon the Lord Willetts FRS, Chair

Ex-Offico Members

Professor Sir Adrian Smith PRS President, The Royal Society
Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President, Royal Academy of Engineering
Professor Julia Black CBE PBA,  President, British Academy
Professor Dame Anne Johnson DBE PMedSci, President, The Academy of Medical Sciences
Professor Sir John Ball FRS FRSE, President, The Royal Society of Edinburgh
Professor Hywel Thomas CBE FREng FRS FLSW MAE, President, The Learned Society of Wales
Malcolm Brinded CBE FREng, Chair, EngineeringUK
Professor Carole Mundell, President, Science Council 
Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair, Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI
Professor Guy Poppy CB FMedSci, Interim Executive Chair, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, UKRI
Professor Alison Park, Interim Executive Chair, Economic and Social Research Council, UKRI
Professor Miles Padgett OBE FRS FRSE FInstP, Interim Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UKRI
Indro Mukerjee, Chief Executive, Innovate UK, UKRI
Professor John Iredale, Interim Executive Chair, Medical Research Council, UKRI
Professor Peter Liss CBE FRS, Interim Executive Chair, Natural Environment Research Council, UKRI
Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Executive Chair, Research England, UKRI
Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair, Science and Technology Facilities Council, UKRI
The Rt Hon the Lord Willetts FRS, Chair, Steering Board, UK Space Agency

Trustees

Sir Donald Brydon CBE
The Rt Hon Professor The Lord Kakkar PC FMedSci
Professor Sarah Main
Dr Horia Maior
Dr Dame Julie Maxton
Jonathan Neale FIET FIOD CEng
John Neilson
Viscount Stansgate
Isobel Stephen

Appointed Members

Professor Tariq Ali
Dr Paul Bate
Professor Polina Bayvel CBE FRS FREng 
Sir John Beddington CMG FRS FRSE HonFREng
Mr Justice Birss 
Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz FRS FRCP FMedSci FLSW DL
The Lord Broers FRS FREng HonFMedSci 
Sir Anthony Cleaver HonFREng
Simon Denegri OBE
Sir Gordon Duff FRCP FRCPE FMedSci FRSE
The Lord Haskel
Professor Sir David King ScD FRS HonFREng
Emma Lindsell
Professor The Lord Mair CBE FRS FREng
Patrick McHugh
The Rt Hon the Baroness Neville-Jones DCMG
Sir Paul Nurse FRS FMedSci HonFREng 
Chi Onwurah MP
The Lord Oxburgh KBE FRS HonFREng 
The Lord Rees of Ludlow OM Kt FRS 
The Baroness Sharp of Guildford
Professor Sir Michael Sterling FREng 
The Lord Trees MRCVS, FMedSci, HonFRSE
Sir Peter Williams CBE FRS FREng
The Lord Willis of Knaresborough