ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú

What is the Research Excellence Framework?

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a UK-wide assessment of research quality in higher education institutions, guiding the distribution of approximately £2 billion in quality-related funding annually. It involves expert review by sub-panels aligned with 34 subject-based Units of Assessment, overseen by main and advisory panels comprising senior academics, international experts, and research users. The REF supports accountability for public investment, demonstrates the impact of funded research, and offers reputational benchmarking for institutions and the public.

REF 2029

The last REF took place in 2021 (see how we did in REF 2021 here). The next REF will take place in 2028, with results published in December 2029 (REF 2029). The design of REF 2029 has been shaped by the Future Research Assessment Programme (FRAP), commissioned by the UK Funding Bodies.

The signal a broader evaluation of research excellence, with increased emphasis on people, culture, and environment. The assessment framework has been revised into three elements:

In addition:

• the Unit of Assessment structure will remain consistent with REF 2021;
• volume measures will be based on HESA data, with no major changes planned;
• the link between individual staff and submissions is removed, eliminating minimum and maximum output requirements;
• submitted outputs must demonstrate a substantive connection to the institution;
• outputs authored solely by PGR students or staff without research responsibilities will not be eligible;
• the minimum requirement for impact case studies is reduced to one, and the 2* quality threshold for underpinning research has been removed.

What are we doing to prepare for the next REF?

Strategic preparations for REF 2029 are being overseen by the REF Strategy Group led by the DVC/PVC Research and Innovation and reporting directly to University Executive Board and University Research and Innovation Committee. This is supported by the REF Team in the Department of Research and Innovation, who are collaborating with the broader community including UoAs and faculties and other professional services, and are coordinating the delivery of the REF 2029 submission on behalf of the University.

The final REF guidance and criteria for the next REF are not yet known. More information on the REF will be available soon via Research England REF webpage. As this information becomes available this webpage will be updated. However, the new REF 2029 Open Access policy comes into force on 1 January 2026 and we are currently developing our REF 2029 Code of Practice.

REF 2029 Open Access policy

The new will come into force on 1 January 2026 and applies to peer-reviewed research articles published in journals and conference proceedings with an ISSN. Articles published in journals and conference proceedings which do not provide a peer-review process are also in-scope. In-scope research outputs should meet the key requirements, in order to be eligible for submission to REF 2029.

Key requirements to comply with the policy are:

• The policy applies to in-scope research outputs published between 1st January 2026 and 31st December 2028.
• In-scope research output types are journal articles and conference contributions in proceedings (with an ISSN).
• Compliant article versions are either the accepted manuscript, or where permitted the published version of record.
• Deposit the author accepted manuscript into Pure within the deadline of 3 months from the date of publication.
• Maximum allowable embargo periods are 6 months (REF Main Panels A & B) and 12 months (REF Main Panels C & D).
• Gold OA research outputs that are fully OA in the publication venue, with an eligible license, comply with the policy.
• Eligible licenses for Gold OA are any of the Creative Commons licenses, or licenses with an equivalent standard of openness.

To support ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú researchers to meet the new REF 2029 Open Access policy requirements we have updated our institutional  (requires UoP login).

REF 2029 Code of Practice (CoP)

Every institution making a REF submission needs to develop, document and apply a Code of Practice for REF 2029. The main purposes of the Code of Practice are to:

Our REF 2029 Code of Practice is currently under development and will build on the Code of Practice that we submitted for REF 2021. The draft REF 2029 Code of Practice will be shared with staff representative groups during a consultation phase and the finalised document will be published here once it has been approved by research England.