The Division is headed by a Director, Research and Development, who is responsible for the following functions:

1. Develop, implement and review policies, strategies, guidelines and standards for research and development;
2. Coordinate compilation of national research performance indicators;
3. Promote collaborative research between research institutions; academia, industry and indigenous communities;
4. Facilitate Provision of research extension and consultancy services;
5. Spearhead translation and dissemination of research findings for policy, industry and community use;
6. Establish and operationalize research hubs and centers of excellence;
7. Establish a multi-stakeholder research ecosystem to align research resources with national priorities;
8. Build communities of practice in research and development;
9. Coordinate the establishment and maintenance of national repositories and databases to ensure preservation and accessibility of research outputs;
10. Facilitate capacity-building initiatives for researchers and institutions, including training and mentorship;
11. Coordinate capacity building for research and development for improvement and preservation of indigenous knowledge; 
12. Promote ethical, participatory community-based research through Indigenous knowledge ethical review protocols; 
13. Monitor and evaluate performance and impact of publicly funded research; and
14. Promote gender, equity, and inclusion in research processes and governance. 

The Division is headed by a Director, Innovation Management, who is responsible for the following functions:

1. Develop and review innovation policies, strategies, guidelines, standards, programmes and projects;
2. Develop and implement mechanisms for strengthening Kenya’s innovation ecosystem through global partnerships;
3. Coordinate the design and implementation of innovation programmes and projects that support startups, entrepreneurs, mentorship, infrastructure grassroot innovations and mentorship;
4. Establish innovation clusters to foster innovation and competitiveness through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and a supportive ecosystem;
5. Develop reward schemes to incentivize researchers and innovators;
6. Promote acquisition of IPR for research outputs and innovations; 
7. Foster linkages between research institutions, communities, industry and academia for advancement of innovation and creativity; 
8. Promote the development and preservation of indigenous technology, value addition, adaptation and innovation;
9. Establish and maintain innovation hubs, incubation centres to nurture, develop and up-scale innovations; 
10. Foster a culture of innovation and creativity, replication, adaptation and learning;
11. Provide technical advice to existing innovation projects; and
12. Organize multi-stakeholder fora, conferences, symposiums, exhibitions, fairs and seminars to promote innovations and a culture of creativity.

The Division is headed by a Director, Knowledge Management and Commercialization who is reponsible following functions:

1. Formulate, develop, implement and review policies, frameworks, strategies, guidelines and standards for knowledge management and transfer;
2. Establish an SRI observatory to generate collect, aggregate, analyze, store and disseminate SRI statistics to inform evidence-based policy- and decision-making;
3. Coordinate access to scientific data and knowledge, creation and dissemination of research-based content to inform public policy and societal dialogue;
4. Establish and implement international collaborations and knowledge networks to enhance knowledge creation and exchange;
5. Establish and maintain an integrated knowledge management information system to inform the country on the SRI profile; 
6. Partner with other national, regional and international SRI observatories to learn and implement best practices;
7. Coordinate the identification, acquisition, transfer, diffusion and application of relevant SRI knowledge in all sectors of the economy;
8. Enhance national productivity through managing, preserving and diffusing SRI knowledge to improve efficiency for socioeconomic development;
9. Strengthen the knowledge management of National and County Governments to provide data and information on the state of SRI in Kenya;
10. Establish future science, research and innovation (SRI) needs and develop suitable responsive and flexible data and indicators; 
11. Develop a national strategy for science communication and public engagement with science and technology;
12. Establish guidelines for transforming scientific research into usable knowledge products;
13. Support training and capacity building in science communication, including public science literacy and media relations; and
14. Promote science engagement platforms such as science festivals, exhibitions, community dialogue forums among others to enhance societal uptake of research.

The Division is headed by a Director, Partinership and Resource Mobilization who is responsible for the following functions:

1. Develop and review policies, strategies, guidelines for resource mobilization and capacity building for SRI programmes and projects;
2. Monitor and evaluate the implementation of partnership agreements and MOUs;
3. Build capacity of stakeholders at various levels for resource mobilization;
4. Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with development partners and other stakeholders; 
5. Coordinate mobilization of resources for science, research, and innovation the programmes and projects;
6. Undertake research to assess viability and potential sources of funding and cost benefit analysis; 
7. Develop, implement and review framework for a sustained approach to financial, material and non-material support to SRI; and
8. Quantify and report on the gains made through various Resource Mobilization efforts and partnerships.