Reviewing the 14-day rule: Project FAQs

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) is undertaking this project to explore the current and future ethical, scientific, social, and policy considerations related to the 14-day rule for human embryo culture, with the aim of informing UK legislative reform.

We aim to deliver a robust, independent body of evidence to key decision makers on possible policy and regulatory options for the future of embryo research, informed by appraisal of different policy options for the future of the 14-day rule, considering scientific capabilities, ethics, and diverse public views and values.

The project activities will take place across four overlapping phases. Short outputs will be produced throughout this time, culminating in a final summary report mapping out different policy options.

Phase 1: Review of the short-, medium- and long-term potential of the science of human embryo research, including future scenario mapping.

Phase 2: Review of the ethics of human embryo research, including future scenario mapping.

Phase 3: UK-based deliberative dialogue to understand public views and values surrounding human embryo research and its limits.

Phase 4: A multi-disciplinary Working Group to review all evidence gathered in phases 1-3 before deliberating and appraising different policy options that take trade-offs, stakeholder and public attitudes, and the international research landscape into account.

The project as a whole is expected to take 18 months.

We expect to publish the findings in full in summer 2026, however we intend to share insights regularly as the project progresses.

The ‘reviewing the 14-day rule for human embryo research project’ is run by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB).

The project is funded by a grant from Wellcome.

It is being overseen by a multi-disciplinary Working Group, appointed by the NCOB.

The public dialogue element of the project (phase 3) is being delivered in partnership and with funding from UKRI Sciencewise.

Members of the Working Group were appointed by the NCOB in in a personal capacity and have not been appointed to represent the views of any organisation.

The Working Group is overseeing the whole 14-day rule project, including writing and agreeing the final summary report.

The independent Oversight Group is focussed on the public dialogue phase of the project. It will help to ensure the dialogue materials, process and outputs are balanced, accurate and accessible. The group will review the structure and content of the dialogue sessions and help ensure that a diversity of views and voices are heard in the dialogue process.

The future scenarios are plausible visions for how the future of human embryo research and governance might unfold, based on different factors. They are not predictions of the future but can be used as tools to reflect on and anticipate possible future risks, opportunities and challenges.

The 14-day rule for human embryo research public dialogue has been commissioned by the NCOB , with funding from Wellcome and the UKRI Sciencewise programme. The dialogue is being designed and delivered by Ipsos UK along with it’s partners The Liminal Space and National Voices. It is being independently evaluated by URSUS Consulting.

We have appointed an independent Oversight Group to help ensure that the dialogue materials and processes are comprehensive, balanced, accessible, and relevant to policy makers. The full Terms of Reference for the Oversight Group can be found here and details of its membership can be found here.

The public dialogue is split into two stages:

Stage 1 – Community Conversations: is a mixture of workshops, in-depth interviews, and drop-in sessions taking place both online and in person across the four UK nations. These conversations will capture views and insights from diverse communities and groups, particularly those who are generally under-represented in healthcare research and who have lived experience related to the topic.

Stage 2 – Citizens’ Summit: A large participatory event bringing together up to 110 participants who provide a reflective sample of the UK population.  Over a series of online and in-person sessions, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the topic, deliberate collectively, and generate conclusions on potential options regarding the 14-day rule.

A Citizens’ Summit is a generic term for a large-scale deliberative public event or series of events designed to engage a reflective sample of the public with a complex policy issue, often involving provision of insights or recommendations. Discussions happen in small groups and are facilitated by trained researchers and engagement practitioners.

For the Community Conversations, approximately 200 people from across the UK will be involved. Ipsos has partnered with National Voices, a leading coalition of health and social care charities, to identify and recruit participants from diverse communities and groups through their charity networks.

For the Citizens’ Summit, around 100–110 participants will be selected from across the UK to take part. Participants will be recruited from the Ipsos UK KnowledgePanel – the UK’s largest online random probability panel, inclusive of the UK population (25,000 people), with technological support to engage digitally excluded groups.

No, neither stages of the public dialogue (Community Conversations and Citizens’ Summit) will be designed to result in voting on the future of the 14-day rule. Instead, the dialogue will aim to explore and understand the public’s views and priorities on the potential social and ethical implications of maintaining, amending, or removing the 14-day rule.

No, there is no option for a member of the public to directly apply to be a participant for the public dialogue. All participants will be recruited either through charities and trusted intermediaries or through the Ipsos UK KnowledgePanel.

NCOB and Ipsos are committed to making the public dialogue as inclusive and accessible as possible. Participants in the Community Conversations will receive up to £70 depending on the level of their involvement. Those taking part in the Citizens’ Summit will receive an incentive of £540 in recognition of their time and contributions.

To help make participation possible, support will be available for childcare costs, accommodation, and travel. Events will be held in accessible venues, with facilities such as prayer rooms and disabled parking. For online sessions, participants will have access to dedicated IT and technology support, including hardware or digital devices where required.

The findings of the public dialogue will inform a report within the wider NCOB programme of work on the 14-day rule, which will offer practical policy insights and will be published in Summer 2026. The dialogue also aims to inform wider decision-making and policy in the UK’s scientific research and regulatory sectors.

The findings will be published in a report in Summer 2026.