REF 2021 Guidance and Framework

Each part of the submission (outputs, impact, environment) was given a quality profile, with a which shows the percentage of the submission at each quality rating, on a scale unclassified to 4*.

The elements the REF 2021 submissions were given weightings:

Outputs – 60%

Impact – 25%

Environment – 15%

The results were published for each submission as an overall excellence profile, weighted as above, as well as three sub-profiles (reflecting the above elements) for each submission.

Quality-related (QR) research income is allocated on the basis of REF results.

Staff

Unlike REF2014, and previous RAE exercises, there was no staff selection in REF 2021; the funding bodies decided to implement the recommendation of the Stern review that all staff with significant responsibility for research should be returned to the REF. The University’s Code of Practice sets out in detail how these rules were implemented.

Outputs

Outputs were “decoupled” from the staff submitted for the first time; for each unit’s submission, 2.5 outputs were required per submitted staff FTE. A minimum of one, and a maximum of five, outputs were attributed to each staff member. Arrangements were put in place to allow staff to be returned without the required minimum of one output where certain exceptional individual circumstances had affected their ability to meet the requirement. The institutional Code of Practice also set out how outputs were be selected and staff circumstances dealt with. Journal articles and conference proceedings accepted after 1st April 2016 also had to comply with the REF Open Access policy.

Impact

The weighting of impact in the overall assessment was increased to 25%, but fewer case studies were generally required for each UOA submission.