Research Excellence Framework (REF)

The REF is a sector wide assessment exercise of publicly funded research in the UK. It was last held in 2014, when UK institutions were invited to submit outputs, impact case studies and evidence about the quality of their research environment for assessment. Panels of peer reviewers assessed the institutional submissions in research areas, or units of assessment. The outcome was a quality profile for each unit of assessment which rated the quality of outputs, impacts and the research environment as world leading (4*), internationally excellent (3*), recognised internationally (2*) or recognised nationally (1*). For the general institutional quality profile, the elements of assessment were weighted as follows: publications 65%, impact 20% and research environment 15%.

The REF is the latest iteration of research assessment exercises held by the UK government since the 1980s, each 6 years or so apart from the next. It has always been a selective exercise, in which institutions were invited to submit their best (not all) of their research. It is a measure of research quality as well as research intensity, with research intensive institutions submitting the majority of their eligible staff and others submitting smaller groups of researchers. In the 2014 exercise the largest submission came from University College London which submitted 2,565.6 FTE of their staff (more than 90%), and the smallest came from St Mary’s University College, a teacher training and liberal arts institution which submitted 3 FTE (around 6%). Our own submission rate in 2014 was just over 71%; we submitted 597.2 FTE.

The REF outcome has become an internationally recognised standard of research quality for UK institutions, and feeds into many institutional ranking and benchmarking exercises. It therefore has great reputational value to UK institutions.

The REF results also feed into the formula used by the funding councils to calculate the annual  research block grant or Research Excellence Grant (REG). 

About two thirds of the REG is calculated through a formula which multiplies the weighted percentage of 4* research and the percentage of 3* research achieved in the REF by each unit of assessment with the number of staff submitted to work out our institutional share of the resource the Scottish Funding Council identifies for distribution each year. The remaining third of the REG calculated on the basis of our share of the sectoral total research income in Scotland over the last three years.

Our REG is currently around £20m a year and is distributed through the school budgets in accordance with numbers of staff submitted and REF quality profiles achieved. 

• The UK REF2014 was the largest assessment of University research in the world.
• 76% of the University's research has been rated 'world leading' or 'internationally excellent' in the Research Excellence Framework (REF2014)

For additional information on the REF2014, please visit the HEFCE REF2014 website.

Table of Results

The full results for the University's submissions are listed below.*

*Results downloaded from http://ref2014tool.analytics.elsevier.com/overall/internal_results
REF 2014 Results Analysis Tool is developed by Elsevier Analytical Services, part of Elsevier Research Intelligence Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Scotland Excellence Performance

Top in Scotland for Performance

(4*+3* research ratings combined)

• 1st in Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care
• 1st in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences (Geology and Geosciences)

Top in Scotland for Impact

• 1st in Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care
• 1st in Business and Management
• 1st in Chemistry
• 1st in Divinity
• 1st in Geosciences
• 1st in History

View examples of the University's impact

UK Excellence Performance

Top in the UK for Performance

• 1st in Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science (Soil and Environmental Science)

(4*+3* research ratings combined)

• 2nd in the UK for English Language and Literature
• 3rd in the UK for Psychology and Psychiatry
• 5th in the UK for Architecture, Built Environment and Planning (Property and Transport)

UK Outstanding Impact

For the first time research was rated in terms of real world impact.

• 85% of all submissions rated 'outstanding' or 'very considerable' for impact (4*+3*)
• 1st (joint) in the UK for Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science (Soil and Environmental Science)
• 2nd in the UK for Business and Management Studies
• 2nd in the UK for History

View examples of the University's impact

The REF2014 assed three key research areas, as follows:

1. Research Outputs (65%)
2. Research Impact (20%)
3. Research Environment (15%)

The most important of these wss the assessment of research outputs. Each academic member of staff who is selected for submission will normally have to provide four research outputs for inclusion. These were assessed by the sub-Panels. Approximately half of the sub-Panels (mainly in the STEM subjects) took into account the citation counts of the submitted research outputs to inform their decisions. Assessment of research outputs accounted for 65% of each submission’s overall quality rating. The citation counts wereprovided to the REF panels via Scopus, and refered to the research outputs submitted.

After the research output element of the assessment exercise, the non-academic impact of research is the next most significant area to be assessed. This was also assessed by Unit of Assessment, via submission of a pre-determined number of “impact case studies” (number of case studies varying dependant on FTE per Unit) and by assessing how the research environment and research strategy within each Unit supports and facilitates non-academic research impact. The assessment of research impact was new to the REF2014 and accounted for 20% of the overall quality profile within each Unit.

The research output and impact elements of each submission was accompanied by a narrative which described the research environment of each Unit of Assessment. The “research environment” element of the assessment accounted for 15% of each submission. The research environment element assesses research facilities, research strategy, research metrics, career development opportunities, with particular emphasis on early career researchers and postgraduate students, and on equality and diversity issues.

For further information on how submissions were assessed, please access;

• The REF2014 Assessment Framework and Guidance on Submissions Document
• The REF2014: Amendments to the Assessment Framework and Guidance on Submissions Document (January 2012)
• The Panel Criteria and Working Methods documentation (which also details variations between assessment criteria by Main Panel)

Alternatively, these documents are available on the HEFCE website.

For the overall quality profile for each Unit of Assessment the quality ratings are as follows:

For each of the three elements of the assessment – outputs, impact and environment – sub-panels will develop a sub-profile, showing the proportion of the submission that meets each of four starred quality levels. 

• View the assessment criteria and the definitions of the starred levels for the sub-profiles

Final decisions on the selection of staff for submission to the exercise were made by the institutional REF2014 Steering Group, in consultation with the Colleges. The REF2014 Steering Group has overarching responsibility for managing and coordinating the University’s submission to the REF2014. Decisions on inclusion for submission will be based entirely on research quality.

In making decisions on inclusion, the University, via the REF2014 Steering Group, adhered to its internal REF2014 Equality and Diversity Code of Practice, as required by the Funding Councils. The University's REF2014 Equality and Diversity Code of Practice was approved via the University Court at its meeting on 6 December 2011 and was submitted to the national REF2014 Team (HEFCE) for formal approval.

• Download a copy of the University's REF2014 Equality and Diversity Code of Practice, as submitted to the REF2014 Team.

Please find a number of documents key REF2014 below.

• Assessment Framework and Guidance on Submission
• Full Panel Criteria and Working Methods
• HEFCE Decisions on the Assessment of Impact

Impact Related Links:

In order to access the additional documentation on Impact listed below, as released by HEFCE following the Impact Pilot Exercise (2010);

• HEFCE Impact Pilot Exercise Expert Panel Findings.
• Feedback from the Higher Education Institutions Involved in the Pilot.
• Examples of impact case studies best practice, as submitted to the pilot exercise

Please visit the following link: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/rsrch/REFimpact/