The Research Excellence Framework and results day
Thursday, 11 December 2014
On 18 December, the results for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) will be made available for all UK universities. The REF assesses each piece of research submitted for its quality, and each Unit of Assessment on its impact and its research environment. These assessments will influence the reputation of both individual subject areas and the University as a whole, and will also impact on the research funding that we might receive in the future.
As a research intensive University, Reading has submitted the research of 638 academics to REF across 23 different Units of Assessment (Units of Assessment split the REF up into subject areas).
The REF results will be eagerly anticipated across the University. On 18 December, Heads of School will have tailored results packs which they can use to talk locally to their academic colleagues. For the wider Reading community, we will send an all-staff message which will give you the top-level highlights and point to more detailed information that will be available online.
The REF allows the four UK higher education funding bodies* to allocate about £2 billion per year of research funding to UK universities selectively, based on the quality and volume of each university's research. This periodic assessment exercise was previously known as the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), and was last conducted in 2008.
The REF has assessed the quality and impact of research submitted by UK universities across all disciplines. The results will be used by the funding bodies to allocate block-grant research funding to universities from 2015-16.
As well as informing funding allocations, the REF provides accountability for public investment in research, demonstrates its benefits, and provides important reputational yardsticks and benchmarking information about the research performance of UK universities.
* The four UK funding bodies are: the Higher Education Funding Council for England, Scottish Funding Council, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and Department for Education, Northern Ireland