Towards Excellence in Research: Achievements and Visions of Re@WBC Extending UK Universities Excellence in Research to Universities in Balkan Prof Dobrila Petrovic, Coventry University, UK University of Belgrade, Serbia, 10th-11th September, 2018

Overview Managing Research in UK Universities Research Excellence with Impact in UK Research xcellence Framework REF 2021 in UK Open-Access

Managing Research in UK Universities

Research Development Unit Supports the development of the research culture, capability, portfolio, income pipeline and profile within Research Centres/Institutes. The value to researchers: ​ ·         increased research income ·         increased success rate ·         raised profile and reputation of the research centres ·         maximised impact of research

Research Funding Unit Responsible for bid development, building relationships with quality funding bodies and providing expert advice on funding bodies / organisations, their rules and their application processes.

Research Finance and Compliance Unit Responsible for: Project financial statements and operations  ​Funder compliance

Research Management and Administration Unit To assist researchers successfully achieve their project objectives within budget, to specification and to schedule, and with impact (to make a positive contribution to REF 2021).

Research Excellence Unit Responsible for co-ordinating University-wide systems and processes in support of research excellence, ensuring that the necessary targets are met and that the relevant data are collected, working towards a high-quality future REF submission. 

Do we publish in the right places? How many PhD completions we should have? Research ‘esteem’ factors Review panels, visiting Professor, Invited conference speaker Building networks Enhancing the institutional understanding of impact, and how to capture it Dissemination is not impact! How do we roll out Open Access effectively Most outputs to next REF will have to meet OA rules

Research Excellence with Impact “Excellence” is defined as a combination of originality, significance and rigour Measured through metrics which include the number of research outputs (publications) and citations “Impact” is auditable economic, social, cultural, policy-influencing or practice-enhancing depending on the discipline(s) involved.

Research Impact ‘For the purposes of the REF, impact is defined as an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’ (HEFCE) 'the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy‘ (RCUK).

Research Excellence with Impact Big projects vs small projects Applied research vs theoretical research Industrial collaborator vs without industrial collaboration

What is REF – Research Excellence Framework? REF is an assessment of UK universities’ research – 2014, 2008, 2001… Next REF scheduled for 2021 In REF2014, universities submitted their research in one or more of 36 areas of research, or ‘Units of Assessment’

What is evaluating in REF2021 Outputs Impact Case Studies Environment Will be expanded to include sections on interdisciplinary research, collaboration, open access and equality and diversity Units of Assessment Assessment The same five-point scale used for scoring in REF2014 will remain (U-4*) Metrics and citation data may be used to inform assessment of outputs

In REF 2014 Coventry University submitted to 9 UoA3 Allied Health, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy UoA4 Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience UoA7 Earth Systems and Environmental Science UoA10 Mathematical Sciences UoA11 Computer Science and Informatics UoA15 General Engineering UoA19 Business and Management UoA21 Politics and International Studies UoA34 Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Outputs – originality, significance and rigour The extent to which the output introduces a new way of thinking about a subject, or is distinctive or transformative compared with previous work in an academic field Significance Academic significance – influencing academic thinking and/or practice, developing new academic concepts Rigour Was the methodological approach taken appropriate, e.g. qualitative or quantitative; was just one approach used or more than one? Is it using the most rigorous approach possible, or just a routine method?

What is research impact? An effect, change or benefit to PROCESSES, PLACES, PEOPLE

What is research impact? Improved risk management A social enterprise has been created Changes to legislation or regulations Enhanced technical standards or protocols Jobs have been created or protected A new product has been commercialised

Open-Access OA policies and REF “Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. ” OA policies and REF All journal articles and conference proceedings submitted to the next REF must be openly available Author accepted manuscripts and metadata should be deposited in the repository within three months of acceptance. Extra credit given for making other types of output openly available

Gold or Green? Gold OA - publishing directly in an open access journal or with an open access publisher that provides immediate free access. There may be fee associated with this option. Green OA (or self archiving) - Authors publish in a journal and then deposit a version of the article for free in their institutional or subject repository