The four UK funding bodies for higher education conducted a joint consultation on the arrangements for research assessment in a second Research Excellence Framework (REF).
Objectives of the consultation
This consultation set out the proposals of the four UK higher education funding bodies for the second Research Excellence Framework for the assessment of research in UK higher education institutions. The proposals seek to build on the first REF conducted in 2014, and to incorporate the principles identified in Lord Stern’s Independent Review of the REF.
The consultation concluded in March and covered a broad range of topics, including a number of issues particularly pertinent to the engineering and computer science communities. It included proposals intended to reduce the burden associated with the REF process while maintaining and improving incentives for research excellence. These included:
- recommendations relating to the submission of staff and outputs,
- the approach to the assessment of impact, and
- the introduction of an institutional level assessment.
The consultation closed on 17 March 2017.
Supporting papers
To download the consultation document, please follow the link below.
CIBSE response
The Royal Academy of Engineering submitted a response to this consultation following a wide engagement with the UK’s engineering and computer science communities. CIBSE contributed to the RAEng response and also submitted its own response. To read CIBSE and RAEng responses, please follow the links below.