Final copies of the Guidance on Submissions (the technical rules for the REF) and the Panel Criteria and Working Methods (how the panels will operate) were published on the REF2021 website on Thursday 31 January. Alongside these were published a note from the REF Steering Group explaining the key decisions which helped to shape these … Continue reading “REF 2021 Guidance published”
Author: Elizabeth Westlake
REF 2021 Public Engagement Workshop
On 6th February 2018, the HEFCE REF Team convened a meeting to discuss issues associated with the assessment of how impact derived from Public Engagement with Research (PER). Attendees included a mix of public engagement staff (both academic and professional services), sub-panel chairs, advisers and secretaries, and institutional REF people (again, both academic and professional … Continue reading “REF 2021 Public Engagement Workshop”
REF Panel Adviser. Again.
On 12th December 2017, in the middle of that period of heavy snow and ice which brought the West Midlands to a halt, I found myself sitting in front of my laptop being interviewed by Skype for the position of REF Panel Adviser. A couple of weeks later, I was delighted to hear I had … Continue reading “REF Panel Adviser. Again.”
HEFCE Consultation on the REF
On 8 December 2016, the Funding Councils issued their Consultation on REF2021 (http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2016/201636/ ). This is their attempt to turn the principles of the Stern review into practice and the 44 questions, many of which pose significant and interlinked challenges to the sector, highlight just how hard it is to do this. The REF team’s … Continue reading “HEFCE Consultation on the REF”
Reflecting on the Stern Review
On 28th July 2016, Lord Stern published his much anticipated review of the REF: Building on Success and Learning from Experience. The report neither proposed a wholesale move to metrics to assess research quality nor the abolition of REF – both apocalyptic scenarios trailed early in the review process. Rather, the proposals for change are … Continue reading “Reflecting on the Stern Review”