The week began with a meeting attended by all the Chief Executives and some 800 staff of Research Councils UK at the Swindon STEAM museum (a splendid location celebrating the early days of the Great Western Railway), where we set down some of our collective thinking about a framework for the role of research in a productive economy, in a healthy society and in contributing to a sustainable world. BBSRC then had a senior Executive Away Day where we worked on our strategic thinking in a number of areas, including the delivery of our emerging Strategic Plan that we continue to develop following an extensive consultation phase. [...]