Research Excellence Framework

LSE finishes on top again as Cardiff and Leicester repeat strong performances

‘Golden triangle’ institutions perform strongly on metric which accounts for 15 per cent of overall Research Excellence Framework scores

Queen Mary University of London tops ranking, with Royal Holloway and the University of Manchester joint second

UCL tops table for law as Kent, SOAS and Birmingham significantly improve their standings

How we analyse the results of the Research Excellence Framework

Linking impact to funding is breeding mistrust, apathy and unrest. Researchers must be free to do the work they find most meaningful, says Mark Reed

Research-led teaching is undermined when academics’ research is pushed into areas only obliquely related to students’ interests, says Ian Pace

Politicians’ false claims to be implementing evidence-based policy risk undermining academia’s reputation, says Gary Thomas

Staggering REF over multiple years could cut costs and reduce ‘perverse’ hiring practices, consultation suggests

Anonymous interviews with UK university bosses reveal frustration with increased administrative costs associated with REF

Some scholars report that evaluation deters them from pursuing novel scholarship

Online profile seen simplistically ‘as a proxy for being a publicly engaged academic’, warn researchers

As an international review of the UK’s REF begins even before the assessment panels have done their work, has the exercise’s reliance on rereading published papers finally had its day? Might it be time for metrics? Or something else entirely? Jack Grove looks around the world for options  

Block grants need to be divided up, but UK research quality does not depend on a regular national audit

Female representation now proportionate to UK academia as a whole, even if ethnic minorities still fall short

Former government science adviser Sir Peter Gluckman will lead international advisory body to examine reform of national research audit

The REF and TEF should be brought together, but adopting low-quality shortcuts would undermine the whole purpose, says Thom Brooks 

Simpler options are imperfect but perhaps no more so than the panels’ unavoidably cursory ‘peer review’ of submissions, says Dorothy Bishop

In year before REF census, at a handful of institutions more than two-thirds of staff were reclassified 

The focus of research evaluation on papers and grants excludes far too many vital contributions. We must change that, says Simon Hettrick

Rama Thirunamachandran says metrics could be effectively used to assess quality for many disciplines

Merging metrics for the REF, KEF and TEF would free up time for academics to become researchers once again, says Robert MacIntosh

More than 76,000 academics at 157 universities participating in research evaluation

Academics say its ‘unethical’ for universities to profit from work done by researchers who have since lost their jobs

No national delay to UK research audit, but Research England to consider granting more time for universities in emergency circumstances

Universities express concern about diversion of clinical academic staff to front-line services and impact of lockdown

Research excellence framework submission deadline still set for 31 March

Despite a pandemic-induced pause in March, research funders have concluded that submissions are ‘broadly on track’ and will not push deadline back again

Ministers’ eagerness to launch yet another review when so many others remain unpublished is testing the patience of universities, says Andrew McRae

Minister’s attack on academic publication culture suggests a move towards more holistic and team-based assessments of excellence, say experts

Science minister Amanda Solloway announces review of UK’s main research assessment exercise

Some staff whose work has been disrupted by pandemic can be excluded, and leeway on publication deadlines also introduced

UKRI says research organisations will have ‘greater financial incentive’ to invest in supporting scholars

Insistence on ‘excellent’ research is commonplace, but Europe’s biggest funders warn that it can damage integrity and foster ruthless competition when poorly defined

Manchester v-c also calls for rethink on REF and predicts UK will not join next EU research programme

Research Excellence Framework 2021 put on hold to allow universities to focus research efforts on virus battle

Both are too resource-intensive to be sustainable during this crisis, and their objectives can be achieved through other measures, argues Dorothy Bishop

Latest data show about a quarter of universities now have a fifth of full-time academics classed as teaching only

Consulting citation data would ameliorate the all-too-human shortcomings of departmental review, says a Russell Group professor

Big increase would represent less than three-quarters of eligible headcount suggested by official data

As we enter REF submission year, Nicholas Stern and David Sweeney urge universities to broaden their conception of a good submission

Oxford, Cambridge and UCL have been the big winners from changes to formula used to allocate quality-related research funding, analysis shows

Former universities minister says applied science is neglected as researchers chase publications for research excellence framework

More account must be taken of pregnancy, assisted fertility and miscarriage, say Christina Hellmich and Marina Della Giusta

Report for Research England warns assessment may be constraining academics' publishing options

‘Pockets of excellence’ in non-Russell Group institutions could be emptied, some fear

With such wide disagreements in grading, the research excellence framework’s gravity for careers is unjustifiable, says Philip Moriarty

Nearly one in five respondents to four-campus study said they feared role change if they underperformed

Liverpool UCU members supported strike action, but vote failed to meet turnout threshold

The UK’s research excellence framework is slow, expensive and disruptive. The time and technology is ripe for a better alternative, says James Tooley

Implementing the mandate for open access monographs will be complex but that is the price of ‘being the leader’, says Cameron Neylon

Russell Group university is on course for UK’s first industrial action linked to 2021 research excellence framework, says union

As Brexit reaches fever pitch, who knows what damage the 2028 research excellence framework might reveal

Birkbeck is first institution to say it does not want to take credit for work of academics who left on bad terms

Taking a more flexible approach to output numbers is a welcome development for REF 2021 but the challenge remains to use metrics in a responsible way, says David Price 

Funding councils acknowledge that policy U-turn may have 'unintended consequences for individuals'

Oxford academic says increasing work pressures and time constraints mean practice’s future is at risk

Forcing academics on to teaching-only contracts based on flawed assessments of their research is ruining careers, an anonymous academic says 

Australia’s move to performance-based funding must be better thought through than England’s TEF, say Gwilym Croucher and Kenneth Moore

Spike in severance payments in Russell Group may be sign of attempt to shed ‘underperforming’ academics