Research Excellence Framework (REF)
The Research Excellence Framework has been postponed for three months ‘to take stock and ensure alignment with the UK government’s priorities and vision for higher education’. But how radical should the changes be? Should there be any at all? Is it time to start again? We present five very different views
Breaking the link between researchers and their outputs harms academic mobility and disciplinary excellence, argue professors
Three-month review of Research Excellence Framework could trigger more radical rethink on institutional priorities and spending, sector figures warn
Research England hopes transparency pilot could lead to more accountability but critics fear bureaucracy and government control
The three-month pause to re-examine the assessment of ‘people, culture and environment’ could prelude a welcome reversal, says Alice Sullivan
Research England to use REF pause to consider whether institutions must meet baseline performance measures as a condition of receiving funds
Using REF to tackle research culture risks making it too ‘bureaucratic and burdensome’, university leaders warn as Vallance rethinks changes to weightings
Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment
Disparities in impact-related support for UK academics may widen funding inequalities from Research Excellence Framework, scholars fear
Controversial rules on uncapping output numbers for researchers and preventing research ‘portability’ confirmed
The task of reading and rating the thousands of outputs submitted to the UK’s Research Excellence Framework is notoriously Herculean. Could AI ease the burden – or would its use undermine the whole point of having REF panels? As Jisc consults on that question, four writers offer their views
Pilot exercise will gather information on how quality-related funding is used to address EDI, according to new action plan
We finally have a mechanism to overthrow the UK’s neo-feudal system of academic gatekeeping, say Krzysztof Nawratek and Lakshmi Priya Rajendran
Block grant funding model found to hand country edge over other research systems, but only if value of funding isn’t further eroded
‘Existential crisis’ in arts and humanities exacerbates risk that axed academics will not be able to find new roles, subject associations fear
Bureaucracy fears as new Research England rules push for ‘robust data’ on where quality-related funding is spent
Researchers could struggle to find alternative employment if their previous employers have REF submission rights on their work to date, English scholars warn
Universities ‘relieved’ by balance of qualitative and quantitative data in environment evaluations
Details provide more clarity on which research staff will need to enter the next Research Excellence Framework
Data on carbon emissions, staff on fixed-term contracts and employee well-being will be collected for pilot study likely to inform how the next Research Excellence Framework evaluates environment
Research England chair warned that universities in devolved nations disadvantaged by lack of dedicated research culture funding
Claims that efforts are tokenistic must be countered with bold actions to retain buy-in, make progress and maintain momentum, says Cat Davies
Four Russell Group professors to lead assessment teams
Better to work with an exercise that justifies block funding and drives many desirable behaviours within universities, say Anton Muscatelli and Miles Padgett
Abandoning ‘bureaucratic’ exercise now would save universities ?430 million, according to UK Day One
Difficult conversations about how the REF’s post-2029 open access books mandate will be financed cannot be avoided, say experts
Rethink on Research Excellence Framework’s demand that submitted monographs should be freely available follows fierce condemnation of a policy described as ‘unaffordable’ and ‘excessively bureaucratic’
The 2029 Research Excellence Framework aims to assess ‘how institutions and disciplines contribute to healthy, dynamic and inclusive research environments’. But will panellists and university managers really move away from a focus on prestigious journal papers, asks Matthew Flinders
Extending embargoes and permitting more exceptions are likelier than a full U-turn, suggest academic publishing experts
If the best books aren’t REFable, UK research will appear artificially weak, say Heather Widdows, Fiona Macpherson and Simon Kirchin
Majority of respondents to survey worry loose affiliation criteria for Research Excellence Framework could open door to ‘buying in’ star talent
British Academy urges Research Excellence Framework leaders to pause open access plans as sector bodies highlight ‘crushing costs’
‘Excessively bureaucratic’ and ‘unaffordable’ rules on open access proposed for the next Research Excellence Framework should be discarded, say university executives
These initiatives don’t demand extra funding, undervalue publisher input or create institutional or disciplinary divides, say Anthony Cond and Jane Bunker
Extra costs linked to proposed new Research Excellence Framework rules could send art history departments to the wall, warns Francesca Berry
Proposed changes to how scholars publish show little awareness of how they will profoundly reshape academic life, says David Lund
Researchers say precariously employed academics will lose out if universities are required to stump up fees for open access
Pilot to test potential indicators announced amid sector uncertainty
Requiring OA publication would have left bookshops’ history sections narrower in scope and the preserve of a select few authors, says Rory Cormac
Swift clarification of exemption for mass-market books follows claims that REF open access requirements would destroy publishing opportunities for scholars
Extension of journal mandate to monographs designed to ‘make research more open and equitable’, but has historically been a source of controversy
Research quality more evenly spread than funding and ‘toxic cultural bias’ could be behind disparities, says geographical analysis for Hepi
Year-long delay to the next Research Excellence Framework must be used to correct fundamental flaws of proposed exercise, say sector experts
Everyone, from funders to individuals, has a role to play in building a research system that operates with integrity and robustness, says Alexandra Freeman
Year-long delay to UK research assessment follows concerns abolishing minimum output rule for researchers could harm inclusivity
Disagreements over equality issues mentioned in science secretary’s Israel letter must be swiftly addressed, says ex-research council head
Former Warwick head Sir Nigel Thrift says reduced focus on outputs could undermine case for government support of UK research
The increased weighting of the environment section poses risks in an era when EDI is increasingly politicised, say Alice Sullivan and John Armstrong
As a human activity, research cannot but be cultural as much as it is scientific, say Annamaria Carusi and Shomari Lewis-Wilson
Cedars poll highlights toxic working environments in British universities that REF’s focus on research culture aims to tackle
The 2028 exercise’s measurement of the quality of research environments will account for a quarter of overall marks. But what exactly does quality look like? Can it really be measured? And are there political risks in diluting the REF’s focus on outputs? Jack Grove reports
The new rules are welcome, but change will only truly occur if institutions finally get over their obsession with publications, says the Hidden REF committee
Study finds submitting an individual to UK research assessment cost institutions ?6,000 on average
Ethnicity and disability status also significant factors influencing likelihood of researchers being submitted, report finds
The new REF rules allow greater scope to aim for the (four) stars. But who will embrace the risk of crashing to Earth, asks Matthew Flinders
Universities could be marked down on research culture if a handful of researchers dominate submissions, says research assessment officials
Reaction to the new rules has been mixed, but they promise to fix the toxic aspects of research culture, says Cat Davies
Challenges for practice research reflect broader issues around knowledge production and academic hierarchies, say Bill Balaskas and Katia Chornik
Elite universities harbour doubts about shift away from rewarding proven research excellence, says Manchester vice-president, though sector broadly welcomes changes for next assessment exercise
How will proposals to redraw submissions and assessments affect university staff and institutions? THE’s at-a-glance guide to the next Research Excellence Framework explains more
