Research Excellence Framework: Past and Future John Rogers RENU Conference 28 April 2015 @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Two confessions… @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Consistency “Assessments made through the RAE should be consistent especially across cognate areas and in the calibration of quality ratings against international standards of excellence.” RAE 2/99, Guidance on Submissions, HEFCE @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Consistency “There is greater consistency in the assessment process across all UOAs, including standard weightings between the three elements of assessment (outputs, impact and environment) and standardisation of a number of criteria, data requirements and procedures. Panel criteria and working methods have been developed at main panel level, with input from sub-panels” REF 02.201, Guidance on Submissions, para 46 b. @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Research Careers Vitae Policy Forum 2013 Workshop: “B4 - Researcher development contribution to institutional REF submissions Day 2 at 10:45 - REF 2014 includes a section on the assessment of the vitality and sustainability of the research environment within the Units of Assessment. This includes a people element, which looks at staffing strategy, staff development and postgraduate researchers. This workshop explored how researcher development activities could be used to contribute to Units of Assessments' submissions to REF. It introduced the Vitae REF 2014 briefing on the research environment template. Strand - All Researchers (context).” @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Research Careers Entry criteria? Individual circumstances? @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Impact @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Impact S.2.2. There was variation in the way the process was conducted S.2.3. Panellists felt they were able to differentiate between submissions in more detail than the scoring process allowed them to express S.2.4. There were particular challenges in assessing the impact templates Assessing impact submissions for REF 2014: an evaluation, RAND Europe, 2015 @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Metrics “The government's firm presumption is that after the 2008 RAE the system for assessing research quality and allocating 'quality-related' (QR) funding will be mainly metrics based.” (March 2006) @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Wilsdon review, final report due 9 July Metrics Outputs Bibliometrics support peer review judgements Better bibliometrics Information for all panels The Metric Tide: Report of the Independent Review of the Role of Metrics in Research Assessment & Management Impact Quantitative evidence to support case studies Environment “Considerably enhance use of quantitative data…” Wilsdon review, final report due 9 July @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk

Open scholarship “Linking open access to the REF will also help to drive visibility and awareness of open access options within our universities and colleges.” David Sweeney, Director for Research, Innovation and Skills, HEFCE, 28 March 2014

Thank you Research and Enterprise Office The University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA 01786 467041 john.rogers@stir.ac.uk @Stir_Research @Stir_Research www.stir.ac.uk