REF2021

Guide to Research Impact Evidence Collection

There is a growing body of opinion that holds that researchers have a responsibility to articulate the impact of their research to non-academic audiences. Indeed, the way in which research funding is allocated now increasingly reflects researchers’ ability to generate, demonstrate and evidence their impact. A renewed emphasis on the importance of both planning and evidencing […]

How to Write a 4* Journal Article

In December, Prof Mark Reed, Professor of Socio-Technical Innovation at Newcastle University and the man behind Fast Track Impact, tweeted some thoughts on how to write a 4* paper for the REF and wrote a blog about it. This post is published here with the author’s permission. How do you write a 4* paper for […]

The Impact Environment: REFlections on the Stern Review (Part 1)

By Dr Chris Hewson, Impact Coordinator Upon its release last Thursday, the Twittersphere became the locus for a series of overlapping debates on Lord Nicholas Stern’s Review of the REF (see:#SternReview) [i]. This was heartening, chiming with my previous post ‘We need to talk about research impact (again)’ on the need for ‘robust discussions’; a […]

We need to talk about research impact (again)

Original post  University of Salford’s Impact Coordinator – Chris Hewson discusses why we need to talk about research impact: Over the last eighteen months, much has been written and said about impact, and how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can effectively, and efficiently, place themselves on a secure footing in preparation for the next Research Excellence […]

New REF regulations for published research papers from 1 April

Under the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Open Access Policy, all peer reviewed journal articles and conference papers, accepted for publication from 1 April 2016, must meet open access requirements to be eligible for the next REF. The University has developed an internal support approach which will minimise additional work for staff and […]