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Research Excellence Framework

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s national system of research quality assessment for Higher Education institutions, and its result determine the allocation of quality-related (QR) funding from the government to each institution that makes a submission. This page explains more about the REF and the work done within the University to prepare for it.

The last REF exercise to which Sussex made a submission was REF2021. We made our submission in March 2021 and received the results in June 2022. The next REF will be REF2029, and we expect to make a submission in late 2028.

About the REF

What is the REF?

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s national system of research quality assessment for Higher Education institutions, and its result determine the allocation of quality-related (QR) funding from the government to each institution that makes a submission.

The REF is a peer-review process that assesses the performance of research units (not of individual staff members or research students).

The exercise is run by Research England on behalf of the four UK Higher Education funding bodies.

What is the purpose of the REF?

The REF determines the amount of QR funding allocated to each submitting institution, and provides a reputational yardstick and benchmarking information for research quality. The assessment also provides accountability for public investment in research and produces evidence of the benefits of this investment.

How is the REF carried out?

Once institutions have made their submissions, they are assessed through peer-review by expert panels made up of senior academics in relevant fields, international members, and research users in the private, public and third sectors. The panels assess all submissions, calibrate their results, and after an audit process, these are finalised and published. 

What is included in a REF submission?

REF submissions are made up of a mixture of narrative information and data, split across three categories:

‘Contribution to knowledge and understanding’, which includes the outputs (publications and other products) of research, and information on their context and significance.

‘Engagement and impact’, which includes details of how the research unit creates changes or benefits in the world beyond the academy, along with some case studies of particular examples.

‘People, culture and environment’, which gives information on all the institutional, cultural, physical and technical structures and activities that underpin the research unit.

How are submissions assessed?

All material is assessed and graded on a scale from unclassified to 4*, with 4* being world-leading. The REF2021 definitions for each grade were:

• 4* - Quality that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
• 3* - Quality that is internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour but which falls short of the highest standards of excellence.
• 2* - Quality that is recognised internationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour
• 1* - Quality that is recognised nationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour.

Unclassified - Quality that falls below the standard of nationally recognised work. Or work which does not meet the published definition of research for the purposes of this assessment.

For Impact, the scale is also from unclassified to 4*, with 4* being outstanding. The REF2021 definitions for each grade were:

• 4* - Outstanding impacts in terms of their reach and significance.
• 3* - Very considerable impacts in terms of their reach and significance.
• 2* - Considerable impacts in terms of their reach and significance.
• 1* - Recognised but modest impacts in terms of their reach and significance.

Unclassified - The impact is of little or no reach and significance; or the impact was not eligible; or the impact was not underpinned by excellent research produced by the submitted unit.

The elements are weighted to produce a final score:

• Contribution to knowledge and understanding = 50% of the outcome
• Engagement and impact = 25% of the outcome
• People, culture and environment = 25% of the outcome

What has changed for REF2029?

A number of changes for REF2029 have been proposed relative to REF2021. Most of the proposed changes are subject to consultation with the community and are not yet finalised. They include:

Re-naming of and re-weighting of the sections of each REF submission, as shown below:

Section name in REF2021	Weighting in REF2021	Name in REF2029	Weighting in REF2029
Outputs	60%	Contribution to knowledge and understanding	50%
Impact	25%	Engagement and impact	25%
Environment	15%	People, culture and environment	25%

Other changes proposed for REF2029 include greater use of explanatory narratives through the submission, but with more clearly-prescribed required content; the removal of the previous requirement for each member of staff with significant responsibility for research to have at least one output submitted; and a greater emphasis on the impact of the unit as a whole rather than just on specific case studies. 

University of Sussex and the REF

How does the University prepare for the REF?

The REF is fundamentally a review of our research quality, our impact and our environment; so everything that the University, its Schools, departments and individual researchers do to develop great research and a positive, sustainable environment to keep building it, contributes to our REF preparations. There are also some specific activities that we do to prepare for REF, including:

• Internal review of our research outputs and impacts, to understand our areas of strength and to use analysis to help us develop further;
• Development of impact case studies and of the narrative sections of each REF submission;
• Regular analysis of relevant data, and specific activities to improve and develop our platforms for storing and analysing data on our research;
• In the final stages of preparation, selection of the research outputs and impact case studies that our internal review processes suggest are likely to perform best in the REF. 

REF Code of Practice

The University prepared and submitted a new Code of Practice for its preparations and submission for REF2021 which was approved by Research England in November 2019. This was updated in October 2020 to reflect Covid-19 pandemic distruption and revised REF timescales. 

REF 2021 Code of Practice (Revised Oct 2020) [DOCX 75.83KB]

Why is there a REF Code of Practice, and what is it?

The Code of Practice set out how the University prepared for the REF and decided on the contents of its submission in a fair, accurate and appropriate way, whilst complying with Research England’s requirements and rules.

Research England required every university submitting to the REF to produce a Code of Practice. Much of the structure and content of the Code of Practice is pre-determined by Research England, and consists of commitments from the University to follow the rules. However, on certain aspects the University has more substantive choices over the content.

Who produced this Code of Practice?

A Working Group of Senate oversaw the production of the document, with input from elected academic members of Senate, the Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (REF2021), Director of Research and Enterprise, Director of Human Resources, and REF Academic and Operational Manager.

Senate then approved the original document for submission to Research England in June 2019. 

What are the key issues in the Code for staff to be aware of?

• Staff eligibility and significant responsibility for research: Research England requires that universities submit to the REF all staff who are on a teaching and research contract and who have significant responsibility for research. Universities have a choice to a) declare that all staff on a teaching and research contract have significant responsibility for research, or b) declare that only some of these staff have significant responsibility for research, and provide evidence to demonstrate where this is the case. Sussex has decided to adopt option (a), an inclusive approach that recognises the reality of a research-intensive university.
• Inclusion of outputs by research-only staff who are independent researchers: Research-only staff who act as ‘independent researchers’ are also eligible (and required) for REF submission. Research England provide guidance on how an ‘independent researcher’ is to be defined, and the draft Code describes how this guidance will be interpreted and implemented at Sussex.
• Appeals processes: Staff will have the right to appeal the University's view of whether or not they hold significant responsibility for research, and (for research-only staff) whether or not they are employed as  an independent researcher. (It’s important to note that these decisions are intended as recognition of the nature of an individual’s employed role at Sussex, not as a judgement on their performance in that role or an account of activities beyond the scope of their employment.)
• Measures to support equality and diversity in the submission: Research England have substantial requirements for how the REF submission should recognise and support equalities and diversity in the research community. The Code sets out how this will be done at Sussex. 

Open Access

An Open Access policy was introduced for REF2021. The policy stated that certain outputs must be available as Open Access to be eligible for submission to REF. A new Open Access policy is expected for REF2029.

Find out more about Open Access on the University of Sussex Library webpage.

Data protection

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we were required to inform those providing corroborating evidence or contact details for REF impact case studies as to how their personal data would be used, shared and stored to support our submission to REF 2021.

We must have obtained their affirmative, fully-informed consent to use this material, with their accompanying identifying data, in – or to support – our impact case studies.

For further information, please see the University of Sussex Privacy Notice for REF 2021. There is also an associated consent form, which is available to download on the REF 2021 and Data Protection page. This consent form is for GDPR compliance only. There may be other implications for including material in an impact case study (e.g. commercial sensitivity, confidentiality), which may require additional permissions to be secured.