17 December 2014 Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) are due on Thursday, when universities and their academic staff will finally find out how highly the quality of their academic work has been rated. The exercise, last undertaken six years ago, determines the basic levels of research funding universities receive. For the first time the exercise also includes an assessment of the impact research has on the wider world.
The timetable of publication, which includes the data release as well as release of related material, is available on the REF website. The Guardian has a two-minute read that outlines what the REF is, and why it’s important. As expected, the impending announcement has also generated considerable amounts of commentary.
Patrick McGhee, Assistant V-C at the University of Bolton has an article in the Guardian that, in a roundabout way, makes the case for universities to look beyond the individual results of the REF, and instead come together to fight for the continued protection of science funding. Martin McQuillan, Pro V-C of Research at Kingston continues the theme in an article in WonkHE, going into more detail about how and why QR funding is likely to come under increasing pressure, and by extension wondering whether this might be the last REF the sector will see. There’s coverage in the THE of a discussion of leading lights, debating the holy grail of how to achieve more trusted assessment for less effort and less money, and another on the threat of redundancies that a quarter of academics believe the REF poses in their department.
Moving on to the question of ‘what next’, University Alliance has published a report, Research Excellence in the 21st Century, and convened a roundtable of sector experts to consider the issues raised as its contribution to the construction of any future framework. They’re also inviting broader thoughts and comments – follow the link to have your say.
HEFCE has published a review of QR funding, commissioned jointly by themselves and Universities UK. According to HEFCE, the review “demonstrates the irreplaceable value universities place on this income stream”. In particular, it finds that: QR offers a more predictable and stable source of funding that enables long-term strategic development of research; QR provides the opportunity to allocate resources to priority research areas, including those that might not easily secure financial support from Research Councils; and QR is widely used to attract and lever research funding into HEIs, including for matched funding bids.
Finally, for the more strategic among you, who may be looking to influence rather than just respond to any future developments in research funding, Steven Hill, Head of Research Policy at HEFCE has a short blog outlining the steps that HEFCE are taking to reflect on, and improve the exercise for the next time.