Research Excellence Framework Ukri

Leo Migdal

-Dec 14, 2025, 8:15 AM

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s system for assessing the excellence of research in UK higher education providers (HEPs). The REF outcomes are used to inform the allocation of around £2 billion per year of public funding for universities’ research. The REF was first carried out in 2014, replacing the previous Research Assessment Exercise. Research England manages the REF on behalf of all the four UK higher education funding bodies: The funding bodies’ shared policy aim for research assessment is to secure the continuation of a world-class, dynamic and responsive research base across the full academic spectrum within UK higher education. Securing a world-class, dynamic and responsive research base across the full academic spectrum within UK higher education

The REF is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. It first took place in 2014 and 2021. The next exercise is planned for 2029. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s system for assessing the excellence of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). The REF outcomes are used to inform the allocation of around £2 billion per year of public funding for universities’ research. The REF is a process of expert review, carried out by sub-panels focused on subject-based units of assessment (UoAs), under the guidance of overarching main panels and advisory panels.For the purposes of the REF,...

With the publication of the PCE Pilot report, Duncan Shermer, Head of REF Evaluation and Development, reflects on the exercise and elaborates on some of the hugely positive outcomes from the project. Read the blog here. See the Strategy, People, and Research Environment (SPRE) guidance. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029 is vital to supporting a UK research system that delivers knowledge and innovation with real-world impact. A key mechanism underpinning the allocation of around £2 billion annually in research funding, REF ensures accountability for public investment and provides critical insight into the health and impact of UK research. Today’s updates follow…

The Concordat to Support Research Integrity Researcher Checklist of Ethics Applications Recognising Culture as a Cornerstone of Excellent Research UKRIO’s statement on the decision to pause the development of REF 2029 On 5 September 2025, UK Science Minister Patrick Vallance announced a three-month pause on work for the next Research Excellence Framework (REF) to enable reflection on how the framework can best assess research excellence... His announcement followed earlier reports that the weighting given to People, Culture, and Environment (PCE) may be reduced.

The pragmatic response to misunderstandings around the word ‘culture’ will ensure that grassroots momentum is not lost, says John-Arne Røttingen While new technologies seen as ‘game changer’ for national-level research assessment, study finds vehement opposition, particularly among humanities scholars Controversial rules on uncapping output numbers for researchers and preventing research ‘portability’ confirmed Universities ‘relieved’ by balance of qualitative and quantitative data in environment evaluations Decision to row back reforms demonstrates difficulties of using process to engineer social change, critics say, with little clarity over how newly revised ‘people’ section will work This letter will be sent to relevant ministers, the UKRI board and heads of research councies.

A shorter version may also be sent for publication in the press and may be edited for concision and style. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the mechanism by which UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) allocates around £2 billion a year in research funding to academic institutions via a block grant known as ‘Quality-related... The REF is a powerful tool shaping the incentives that universities face. Research England’s proposed changes to the REF for 2029 seek to extend the scope of the REF beyond the assessment of the quality of research. The introduction of a ‘People, Culture and Environment’ (PCE) section, weighted at 25%, will weaken the link between research quality and REF performance. The pilot indicators proposed to assess PCE suggest that higher education institutions will be saddled with a cumbersome assortment of criteria which seek to control how institutions are run, rather than rewarding research excellence.

The indicators provide perverse incentives for universities to introduce administrative and reporting practices with a very poor evidence base. The assessment framework includes a number of criteria whose merit might be legitimately debated such as membership of the Athena Swan scheme and the Race Equality Charter, the creation of safe spaces and the... This suggests that Research England has pre-judged some approaches as ‘best practice’ when they are in fact contentious. No coherent justification has been provided for attempting to measure (certain dimensions of) research environments directly rather than focussing on research quality. No rigorous evidence base has been provided for the pilot PCE indicators and there is no suggestion that the pilot exercise will provide such evidence. These proposals pose serious risks to research integrity and quality, to academic freedom and to institutional autonomy and diversity.

They will also lead to an unwanted increase in unproductive university bureaucracy at the expense of practical support for staff. At a time of great economic difficulty for higher education, tying the hands of institutions in ways which will constrain innovation is unhelpful. Research England has not consulted meaningfully with the academic community and its decision making has been far from transparent. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013.[1][2] REF is undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies: Research England,... To support these aims, research has increasingly highlighted the need for evidence-based approaches to measuring research impact.

For example, Jensen et al. (2021) emphasized that high-quality research impact evaluations should integrate evidence-based methods to ensure societal benefits.[4] Critics argue, inter alia, that there is too much focus on the impact of research outside of the university system, and that impact has no real relevance to the quality of research.[citation needed] It... (2024) suggests that reframing engagement in research through a post-stakeholder lens may address some of these criticisms, by emphasizing voice, context, and power in the impact process.[5] It has repeatedly been argued that REF... The latest REF was in 2021, with results released in May 2022, continuing the previous assessment model of focusing on research outputs, research impact and research environment.[7] This process was slightly delayed because of... Recent research on stakeholder analysis frameworks, such as the 3i framework (Interests, Influence, and Impact) by Reed et al.

(2025), has highlighted the importance of identifying relevant actors in decision-making processes to maximize research impact in contexts like REF assessments.[9] The Research Excellence Framework (REF) was the first exercise to assess the impact of research outside of academia. Impact was defined as ‘an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’. As part of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework exercise, UK higher education institutions (HEIs) submitted 6,975 impact case studies demonstrating the impact of their research on wider society. These case studies provide a unique and invaluable source of information on the impact of UK research. UK higher education (HE) research has wide and varied benefits on the economy, society, culture, policy, health, the environment and quality of life — both within the UK and overseas.

Universities engage with a range of public, private and charitable organisations and local communities. Analysis found that these wider impacts and benefits often stem from multidisciplinary work. Publication patterns in research underpinning impact in REF2014 describes patterns in research outputs submitted by UK higher education institutions to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework and to previous Research Assessment Exercises (RAEs).

Research Excellence Framework Ukri

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