REF 2021 Briefing 25 January 2018

REF 2021 Briefing CHANGES SINCE 2014 Submission of all staff with significant responsibility for research Transitional approach to non-portability of outputs Decoupling of staff from outputs Broadening and deepening of definitions of impact Open access requirements More structured environment statement with additional sections (impact, institutional-level information, interdisciplinary research) Weightings (60/25/15)

REF 2021 Briefing STAFF ‘Category A eligible’ staff: Teaching and research or research-only Independent researcher Minimum of 0.2 fte Substantive connection Census date of 31 July 2020 This is number on which submission rates will be calculated Expectation that HEIs will submit 100% of eligible staff

REF 2021 Briefing STAFF ‘Category A submitted’ staff: Those eligible staff identified as having significant responsibility for research on census date ‘Those for whom explicit time and resources are made available to engage actively in independent research, and that is an expectation of their job role.’ For York, this is assumed to be all staff on T&R contracts plus those on research contracts meeting the definition of Independent This is used to set the FTE for the calculation of the number of outputs and case studies

REF 2021 Briefing STAFF Independent Researchers Applies to Staff on research only contracts Will be further defined as part of Panel Guidance Will build on generic definition used in REF 2014 (undertaking ‘independent research, leading or acting as principal investigator or equivalent on a research grant or significant piece of work) Current Assumption Grade 8 and above or those PI on a research grant

REF 2021 Briefing Code of Practice All submitting HEIs required to provide information on the institution’s processes for ensuring a fair approach to selecting outputs Those not submitting 100% of staff will also need to cover the institution’s processes for identifying ‘Category A submitted’ staff

REF 2021 Briefing OUTPUTS Number of outputs determined by FTE of ‘category A submitted’ staff. The average number of outputs required per FTE will be 2.5. Minimum of one and maximum of five outputs per individual staff member submitted. The maximum does not limit co-authored papers Maximum number of outputs also applies to staff who have left (but, obviously, not minimum figure)

REF 2021 Briefing OUTPUTS In exceptional circumstances Individual circumstances: staff may be returned without minimum of one output (ie very early career staff, long term illness over whole of REF period). Unit circumstances: reduction in outputs for unit as a whole (ie new Department)

REF 2021 Briefing OUTPUTS - Portability Transitional approach to non-portability Outputs may be submitted by: the institution where the research was demonstrably generated; and the institution employing the staff member on the census date ‘Demonstrably generated’ -date when the output was first made publicly available Outputs by staff who have left academia may be submitted

REF 2021 Briefing OUTPUTS Worked Example 20 Staff but with 8 staff working part time Head count of 20 with an FTE of 16 Total number of outputs required is 16*2.5= 40 Of Which 20 must be from current staff (1 per person) Remaining 20 can be from current staff or where an eligible member of staff was employed by the institution at the point the output was published.

REF 2021 Briefing OUTPUTS – Cat c staff Staff not employed by institution but with clear link Outputs are not returnable Contribution described in Environment Template Emeritus staff are not expected to be eligible to be Cat C or Cat A Staff (based on REF2014)

REF 2021 Briefing Open access Outputs deposited as soon after the point of acceptance as possible, and no later than three months after this date from 1 April 2018. Deposit exception from 1 April 2018 -outputs remain compliant if they are deposited up to three months after the date of publication.

REF 2021 Briefing IMPACT Additional guidance on: Criteria of ‘reach and significance’ Impact arising from public engagement One case study + one further case study per up to 15 FTE returned, for the first 105 FTE. After 105 FTE, one further case Timeframe: 1 January 2000 -31 December 2020 for underpinning research 1 August 2013 -31 July 2020 for impacts

REF 2021 Briefing Case study numbers If you have: You will submit: 1 – 14.99 FTE 2 case studies 15 – 29.99 FTE 3 case studies 30 – 44.99 FTE 4 case studies 45 – 59.99 FTE 5 case studies 60 – 74.99 FTE 6 case studies 75 – 89.99 FTE 7 case studies 90 – 104.99 FTE 8 case studies 105 – 154.99 FTE 9 case studies

REF 2021 Briefing Environment Introduction of a more structured template Will include information on: Equality and diversity Approach to enabling impact Approach to supporting collaboration Structures to support interdisciplinary research Section on open research Use of more quantitative data but detail still being discussed

REF 2021 Briefing Timetable Autumn 2017 Appoint sub-panel chairs Invite nominations for panel members Further decisions on the arrangements for submitting staff and outputs Winter 2017-18 Appoint panels Spring 2018 Panels meet to develop criteria Summer to Autumn 2018 Publish draft guidance, and consultation on panel criteria Winter 2018-19 Publish final guidance and criteria 2019 Complete preparation of submission systems 2020 Submission phase 2021 Assessment phase

REF 2021 Briefing York ref2021 preparations Since last REF, have introduced/reviewed ADRRs Research Performance Expectations and Triggers Performance Reviews Post REF Reviews REF Check Exercise (will be one in 2018) Impact Case Study scoping exercise (Jan 2017) Impact Leads in Departments plus Faculty Impact Managers

REF 2021 Briefing REF Strategy Group – more agile than URC York ref2021 preparations REF Strategy Group – more agile than URC Appointment of REF Manager Appointment of Critical Friends/ Output Reviewers Development of Internal Timetable of deadlines/activities Regular REF Briefings

REF 2021 Briefing York ref2021 KEY messages All Eligible Staff will be returned Does everyone have at least one 3* (preferably 4*) paper? Grading outputs will be key More Impact Case Studies will be needed Do Departments/UoAs have sufficient case studies of sufficient quality? Benchmarking and Comparison of Performance Is there evidence that other institutions are improving faster than us? How can we use this to help us understand and improve our own performance?