REF 2029 planning

What is the Research Excellence Framework (REF)?

The REF is a national assessment of the quality of UK higher education research in all disciplines. It is managed by four UK higher education funding bodies and assesses research quality through three areas. In 2029, these will be:

• Contribution to Knowledge and Understanding (CKU): Replaces the Outputs element from REF2021. It primarily assesses research outputs and will also include evidence of wider contributions to the development of a discipline
• Engagement and Impact (E&I): Broadens the impact element to consider both engagement and impact through impact case studies and an accompanying disciplinary statement
• People, Culture and Environment (PCE): Expands the environment element to assess both institutional and disciplinary level research culture.

For Information about our REF planning and processes, we request that all staff access the 2029 REF SharePoint.  In this SharePoint all information on what is the REF, submission timelines, key changes since REF 2021 and the submission management. 

Click here to contact the REF Team