Higher Education Research Excellence Framework (REF)
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs).The current exercise is REF 2029 which builds on the previous exercise (REF 2021).
The exercise is managed by the REF team based at Research England and overseen by a Steering Group comprised of representatives of the four UK Higher Education Funding bodies, including the Department for the Economy, NI.
The purposes of the REF are to:
- provide accountability for public investment in research and produce evidence of the benefits of this investment
- provide benchmarking information and establish reputational yardsticks, for use within the HE sector and for public information
- inform the selective allocation of funding for research.
Further information is available on the REF website