Assessing research
We are working with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the other UK higher education funding bodies to develop new arrangements for the assessment of research, known as the Research Excellence Framework (REF).
Following initial development work, we published a consultation paper on REF in September 2009. The outcomes and decisions were published in March 2010. The funding bodies subsequently ran a pilot project to test and develop the approach to assessing research impact. The outcomes were published in November 2010.
Further information is available on the REF website.
Research was previously assessed through the UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The last RAE was undertaken in 2008. The outcomes of the 2008 RAE, and further information about the exercise, are available on the RAE 2008 website. Circular W09/07HE provides an analysis of the outcomes for Wales.
Information on earlier RAEs, held in 2001, 1996 and 1992, is available in the RAE website.
