Research Excellence Framework
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the new system for assessing research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It replaces the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The REF will be undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland (DEL). The exercise will be managed by the REF team based at HEFCE and overseen by the REF Steering Group, consisting of representatives of the four UK higher education funding bodies.
Through the REF, the UK funding bodies aim to develop and sustain a dynamic and internationally competitive research sector that makes a major contribution to economic prosperity, national wellbeing and the expansion and dissemination of knowledge.
The REF will be a process of expert review. Institutions will be invited to make submissions to 36 units of assessment (UOAs). The submissions will be assessed by an expert sub-panel to be established for each UOA, working under the guidance of four main panels to ensure common procedures and consistent application of the overall assessment standards.
Under the current plans for the REF, three distinct elements will be assessed for each submission: the quality of research outputs, the wider impact of research, and the vitality of the research environment. Output quality will be the dominant element, with a significant weighting for each of the other elements.
TimetableThe first REF exercise will be completed in 2014, to inform funding from 2015-16. The broad timetable for the REF is as follows:
2010 Appoint panels
2011 Publish assessment criteria
2013 Institutions make submissions
2014 Panels assess submissions; outcomes published
Full information can be found on HEFCE webpages: www.ref.ac.uk
