Use Of Ref Results Research Support

Leo Migdal
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use of ref results research support

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If you’re in academia in the UK, chances are you've heard the term "REF" thrown around — but what exactly is it? Why should you care? And more importantly, what do you need to know to make sure your work counts? In a nutshell, REF stands for the Research Excellence Framework — a big review process that assesses the quality and impact of research across UK universities. Every few years, this process helps decide how much funding your institution receives, which in turn influences resources, opportunities, and recognition for your department and your work. Knowing how your research will be evaluated in this context can help you make smarter choices, showcase your work effectively, and even influence your career trajectory.

This guide is here to do exactly that: break down what REF 2029 is, why it’s important for you, and what you need to do now to stay ahead. Whether you’re publishing your first book, developing digital projects, or engaging with communities, understanding the new rules will help ensure your research gets the recognition it deserves. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a periodic assessment of the quality and impact of research conducted by UK universities. It has significant implications for funding, reputation, and career progression of researchers and institutions. Therefore, it is crucial to use feedback and data from previous REF exercises to improve research performance and prepare for the next cycle. In this article, we will discuss how you can do that by following four steps: analysing the results, identifying the strengths and weaknesses, developing an action plan, and monitoring the progress.

The first step is to analyse the results of the previous REF exercise in detail and compare them with your expectations and benchmarks. You should look at the overall scores, the sub-profiles, the feedback statements, and the case studies of your own and other units of assessment. You should also consider the criteria, the panel members, and the guidance documents that were used to evaluate the research outputs, impact, and environment. This will help you understand how your research was perceived and valued by the assessors and the wider academic community. Sr. Lead Azure Cloud Architect/Developer | Cloud Security Strategy

Analyzing Feedback And Data From Previous Ref Exercises. Examining feedback and data from previous Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercises is crucial for improving research performance. By carefully analyzing the comments, scores, and evaluations received in past assessments, researchers can identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to enhance their research outputs. This may involve addressing weaknesses in research impact, strengthening collaboration with external partners, or refining the quality of publications. Additionally, reviewing data on funding allocation and peer review feedback can provide valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of a research program. Assistant Professor of Digital Media at Higher Colleges of Technology | Media Expert | International Speaker | Published Researcher

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a crucial part of the HE landscape and continues to provide significant opportunities for public engagement. Each year, around £2 billion pounds is allocated on the basis of REF results, and the guidance has encouraged HEIs to submit case studies which feature public engagement as a pathway to impact, and... The REF has provided an opportunity for institutions to feature public engagement with research, and for this activity to be recognised as valued and significant. NCCPE research has shown that around half of the submitted case studies in previous exercises have featured public engagement. This is despite concerns from some that public engagement impacts are less likely to be rated highly, and are harder to demonstrate than (for instance) economic impacts The proposals for the next REF, in 2029, look likely to increase the spotlight on engaging with the public.

The Impact Profile has been renamed ‘Engagement and Impact’, to better recognise the contribution of engagement activity (not just the impacts it can help to realise). REF 2029 also places a much more explicit focus on the need to improve the underpinning culture of research. This has been an important focus for the public engagement professional community since the NCCPE was founded in 2007, with an explicit culture change mission. The NCCPE’s EDGE tool is a widely used framework to support universities to work in ways that REF 2029 is encouraging – openly, collaboratively and in a people-centred fashion. This briefing explains the evolution of the REF, and the opportunities it provides to embed professional support for public engagement within research. We have produced a linked collection which traces the history of the REF in more detail and shares key NCCPE resources which have fed into its development.

These provide useful intelligence about how to develop a robust and rigorous approach to assessing the impacts arising from public engagement. We have also produced a briefing document to explain the current state of play with the development of REF2029. Research Management Team of the Year, winners 2016 Research Management Team of the Year, highly commended 2015 Read the latest updates from Research and Innovation Read the latest updates from LSE Consulting

Mustafa BohraThe Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029 In recent years, both the UK and India have demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing research excellence through strategic frameworks – the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) and... Abdullah Ijaz and Andres Coca-StefaniakThe Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029 For early career researchers (ECRs), REF 2029 represents a challenge but also an opportunity to position and shape their scholarly activity in the short and medium term. In this blog post, we... Sarah McGeownThe Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029

The Guide provides a brief overview as to how citation data is used in some key University Rankings and Assessment Exercises. Information on how citation data will be used for REF 2029, will be summarised in the REF Guidance Documentation when it is available. For further information on the REF please contact Research & Innovation Services, or for University Rankings, the Strategy, Planning and Insight Office. For REF 2021, Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science)-provided citation data was used by 11 of the 34 sub-panels (sub-panels 1-9,11 and 16). Details of how citation data was used in the assessment are set out in general terms in ‘Guidance on submissions’ at paragraphs 288 to 292. Information on how these sub-panels would make use of citation data to inform their assessment is set out in the ‘Panel criteria and working methods’ at paragraphs 274 to 282.

Panel guidance clearly states that "No sub-panel will use journal impact factors or any hierarchy of journals in their assessment of outputs. No output will be privileged or disadvantaged on the basis of the publisher, where it is published or the medium of its publication." [PARA 207] We’re transforming our digital communications at Oxford – introducing new channels and bringing content to staff, students and external audiences in ways that better suit their needs. In line with this change, you can now find content from the Research Support, Researcher Hub, and Reproducible Oxford websites in the following locations: If you are external to Oxford, you can find relevant content on the Governance and Planning website or University website. For staff, you can find the content that was previously on those websites and also the content from the Research Administration and Management Hub, the Trusted Research Hub, and the Research Culture Toolkit, in...

If you are a member of staff or a student, you can find the content you need on OxIntranet, the University’s new Oxford-wide intranet. Please note you will need Single Sign On (SSO) credentials to access OxIntranet. 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]

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