Towards REF 2020 What we know and think we know about the next Research Excellence Framework Dr. Tim Brooks, Research Policy & REF Manager, RDCS Anglia Ruskin REF Awayday, 28 October 2015

Why the REF is important A periodic national assessment of research activity which: Provides benchmarking information Ensures public accountability for investment in research and its benefit Enables the selective allocation of recurrent research grant (QR)

What is the REF? A process of expert review which assesses research activity – outputs, impact, environment – over a period of c. 5 years Organised by discipline, into 36 ‘sub panels’ covering a ‘Unit of Assessment’, and four ‘Main Panels’ to ensure consistency Produces quality profiles rating research

Submissions Institutions decide if to participate, and which UoA(s) to submit to. Academic staff in post on the census date the key building block of each submission Employment details Any relevant personal circumstances

Research outputs Outputs of research published during the REF assessment period Selected on the basis of quality Up to four outputs for every staff member, reduced where personal circumstances justify it Worth 65% of the final mark

Impact Worth 20% of the final mark An impact template (20%) about enabling impact from research during the assessment period Case studies (80%) – examples of impacts realised during the assessment period, underpinned by ≥ 2* research, produced by the submitting unit in the previous 21 years Number of case studies determined by FTE of staff in the submission.

Environment Data about doctoral awards and research grant income Narrative statement describing the research environment, strategies and plans, structures and support. Worth 15% of the final score

The next REF? When? (or even if??) Rules and regulations not likely to appear before summer 2016, and more likely summer 2017. In most cases little or no change e.g. UoA organization, staff eligibility, output requirements, environment markers.

The next REF? Impact Seen as a resounding success in REF 2014 Worth 25% next time? Or 40%? Abandon ‘impact template’ document and/or add into research environment requirements? Increase number of case studies required per FTE?

The next REF? Metrics Recent independent review of metrics in research assessment Confirms primacy of peer review but encourages increase in use of metrics where appropriate. Call to increase metrics used to assess environment e.g. total staff FTE doctoral students FTE

The next REF? Timetable Summer 2016 or 2017: first guidance published 31 July 2019: end of environment & impact assessment periods (impact of research from 1 January 1999) 31 October 2019: staff census date 29 November 2019: submission deadline 31 December 2019: last date for publications

Open Access and the next REF Ian Walker, Research Support Librarian, University Library Anglia Ruskin REF Awayday, 28 October 2015

Overview : Green and Gold open access Policy environment Finer details of the policy – what do authors need to do to comply? Potential risks

Two routes to OA: Green open access: Delivered through repositories Author self archives their output “Free” route Access may be subject to a publisher embargo period Gold open access: Immediate open access delivered through journals An APC (article process charge) usually applies Anglia Ruskin Open Access Fund established to cover the costs of gold open access

How did we get here? 2004 : House of Commons inquiry into publishing – advocated green open access 2012 : Finch report recommends “…UK embrace transition towards open access” 2013 : Revised RCUK policy on open access 2014 : HEFCE announce new policy on open access for post-2014 REF

Core principles: Outputs submitted for post-2014 REF must be made open access Requirement applies to journal articles and conference proceedings accepted for publication from 1st April 2016

Achieving compliance: Final peer-reviewed draft deposited in ARRO on acceptance* Repository record discoverable Full text should be made discoverable ASAP (publisher embargoes respected) * Within 3 months of publication until 1st April 2017

What does the policy apply to? All journal articles and conference proceedings (with an ISSN) Extra credit to institutions providing OA to a wider range of outputs Final accepted peer-reviewed text (also known as Author Accepted Manuscript or Post Print) must be deposited

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Embargoes: Panels A & B : 12 months Panels C & D : 24 months 96% of articles submitted to the 2014 REF compliant with this policy HEFCE understand that not all outputs may be able to meet requirements – limited exceptions permitted “Top 50” ARU journals all compliant – but authors still need to be careful to choose a journal which meets HEFCE’s requirements

How do I submit? Within 3 months of acceptance, authors need to upload to ARRO Complete basic bibliographic metadata Upload the post-print Faculty Administrator / Library will validate the record

Issues and challenges: Need to engage with OA to be eligible for REF. Current engagement with ARRO is poor – c.10% of papers deposited Deposit on acceptance means new workflows required Who? No extra money provided by HEFCE to support policy

Thank you Any questions? Ian Walker, Research Support Librarian, University Library ian.walker@anglia.ac.uk Dr. Tim Brooks, Research Policy & REF Manager, RDCS tim.brooks@anglia.ac.uk