MESH: Metascience and Evidence Systems Hub

Research shapes decisions that affect all of us, from how illnesses are treated to how governments make policy. But how do we know which research to trust, and how do we make sure the best evidence reaches the people who need it?

What is metascience?

Metascience is the study of science itself – research on how research is done. It looks at how we can make research more reliable, efficient and useful, and how the evidence it produces can be shared and put to work where it matters in government, healthcare and beyond.

What we do

MESH, led by the Policy Institute at King's College London, brings together internationally recognised experts to understand and improve the way research and evidence are produced and used. Our work helps researchers, funders and policymakers get better value from research, and helps ensure that strong evidence leads to better decisions.

Enormous effort and public investment go into research every year. By understanding what makes research trustworthy and useful, MESH aims to improve how evidence is created and used – supporting better policy and practice in the UK and around the world.

Examples of our projects:

Two UKRI metascience projects: one focusing on the ways in which funded research in the UK aligns with government research priorities and a second mapping impact pathways to improve understanding of knowledge mobilisation mechanisms.
Alex Pollitt is working with Iain Marshall on a large Welcome funded collaboration to develop AI tool to help respond to climate-change health emergencies.
Liz Such and Annette Boaz are working with Elena Simperl and Johanna Walker from the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence on a Kings Together project on AI and synthesis for policy makers.
We are also working closely with the UK Ministry of Justice and colleague at Oslo University on this project. A recent meeting in Oslo, brought the team together with Norwegian policy makers and analysts from health and justice.
Eliel Cohen worked with Kate Williams at the University of Melbourne on a large ESRC-funded project exploring how research impact assessment has shaped research cultures in the UK, US and Australia.
We have carried out several projects using REF impact case studies as a data source to better understand what research impact looks like in different disciplines, how it is created and who benefits from it.
Alex Pollitt was involved in the 'What's it Worth?' series of studies estimating the economic returns of public and charitable investment in medical research.

The team

KCL MESH associates include:

For more information contact: annette.boaz@kcl.ac.uk or alexandra.pollitt@kcl.ac.uk