REF 2029 Glossary

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Assessment criteria = Criteria used by the panels to assess the quality of each element of the submissionfor:

• Strategy, people and research environment (SPRE)
• Contribution to knowledge and understanding (CKU)
• Engagement and impact (E&I)

Assessment period = The years in between the submission deadline of the previous REF and the submission deadline of the current REF cycle, for which REF assesses the quality of a Higher Education Institution’s (HEI) research by considering the quality of the above three components. Dates for the different sections of REF 2029 are given in the relevant SPRE, CKU and E&I sections below.

Code of practice = Each institution making a submission is required to develop, document and apply a code of practice on determining who has significant responsibility for research, who is an independent researcher and the selection of outputs in their REF submissions. LSE’s REF2029 code of practice will be published in 2026/27.

Contribution to knowledge and understanding (CKU) = This component includes outputs and will be expanded in REF2029 to include the assessment of a structured explanatory statement, taken from the disciplinary-level statement, which will present an evidence-based description of the institution’s wider contribution to knowledge and understanding in the disciplinary area. The statement should also explain how the outputs submitted are representative of the research and researchers in the disciplinary area within the School. The assessment period for CKU is 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2028.

Double-weighting = Institutions may request that outputs of extended scale and scope be double-weighted (count as two outputs) in the assessment.

Eligible employment relationship = This is defined as:

• a minimum of 0.2 FTE for at least 12 months continuous employment (as defined by Section 210 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) or the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996) by the HEI making the submission. Continuous employment may be demonstrated by a sequence of consecutive contracts and
• the role descriptor includes an explicit expectation of research activity (in line with the REF definition of research) within the role. ‘Research activity’ is not restricted by profession and an eligible employment relationship may be with any staff member who undertakes, enables or supports research

Engagement and impact (E&I) = This component includes the assessment of impact case studies supplemented by an engagement and impact narrative comprised of quantitative and qualitative evidence, focused on outcomes, and supported by data which sets out the wider contribution of the research activities to society and the economy.

Guidance on submissions = This document specifies the data requirements, definitions and criteria for submissions by Higher Education Institutions. REF Guidance on Submissions

Impact = An effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia.

Impact case study (ICS) = A succinct narrative of the non-academic impact of research. High-scoring ICSs must provide compelling evidence of the significance and reach of the impact described (see below), as well as making clear the distinct and material contribution of the underpinning research. Impact must have occurred between 1 August 2020 and 31 July 2028.

Impact reach = The extent and/ or diversity of the beneficiaries of the impact, e.g., constituencies, numbers of groups, as relevant to the nature of the impact.

Impact significance = The degree to which impact has enabled, enriched, influenced, informed or changed the performance, policies, practices, products, services, understanding, awareness or wellbeing of the beneficiaries.

Independent researcher = A member of staff who undertakes self-directed research, rather than carrying out another individual’s research programme.

Interdisciplinary research = For the purposes of REF, interdisciplinary research is understood to achieve outcomes (including new approaches) that could not be achieved within the framework of a single discipline. Interdisciplinary research features significant interaction between two or more disciplines and / or moves beyond established disciplinary foundations in applying or integrating research approaches from other disciplines.

Joint submission = Two or more UK institutions may make a joint submission in a UOA, where this is the most appropriate way of describing research they have developed or undertaken collaboratively. Panels assess a joint submission in the same way as submissions from single institutions.

Knowledge exchange = A two-way exchange between researchers and research users, to share ideas, research evidence, experiences and skills. Knowledge exchange refers to any process through which academic ideas and insights are shared, and external perspectives and experiences brought into academia. Note that for REF purposes knowledge exchange is the means by which impacts can be achieved, but only impacts are assessed in REF. Learn more about REF Impact

Main panel = The sub-panels work under the leadership and guidance of four main REF panels. 

Multiple submission = Whether institutions may exceptionally make more than one submission in the same UOA to REF2029 is TBC. 

Open Access (OA) = A publishing model that enables peer-reviewed outputs of scholarly research to be made freely available online. It can be achieved through deposit of an authoritative version of the research output in an institutional or subject repository (Green OA) or by publication in journals which are made available free of charge online (Gold OA). REF OA policy for REF2029 TBC. REF OA policy for REF2029. How to deposit scholarly research at LSE.

Output = The product of research, as defined in REF (e.g. a journal article or book). An underpinning principle of REF is that all forms of research output, in any language, will be assessed on a fair and equal basis. Outputs must have been first made publicly available within a specified period, 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2028.

Overall profile = For REF2029, the overall quality profile for REF comprises the scores for the three sub-profiles: Strategy, People and Research Environment (20 per cent), Contribution to Knowledge and Understanding (55 percent), and Engagement and Impact (25 per cent).

Panel criteria and working methods = The REF panel criteria document, which has not been published yet for REF2029, will set out the details of the criteria and working methods that the panels will apply when assessing submissions and includes descriptions of the disciplines covered by each UOA. 

Publication period = Outputs submitted to REF2029 must have been first made publicly available within a specified time frame, which is 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2028.

Research assistant = An individual member of academic staff whose primary employment function is "research only", and who is employed to carry out another individual’s research programme rather than as an independent researcher in their own right.

Research = For the purposes of REF, research is defined as "a process of investigation leading to new insights, effectively shared".

Significant responsibility for research = Staff with significant responsibility for research are those for whom explicit time and resources are made available to engage actively in independent research, and that is an expectation of their job role.

Starred level definitions = Each item submitted to REF is scored as one of the following: 4* (world leading); 3* (internationally excellent); 2* (internationally recognised); 1* (nationally recognised) or unclassified.

Strategy, people and research environment (SPRE) = The overall environment, including but not limited to the strategic direction and support for staff, use of resources, planning and engagement of an institution, will be assessed at both institutional level (IL) and disciplinary level (DL). The data and evidence required for the REF2029 submission are TBC. The assessment period for SPRE is 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2028.

Submission deadline = The date on which all Higher Education Institutions must submit their REF data is likely to be in November 2028.

Submission = A submission comprises a complete set of data about staff, outputs, impact and the research environment, returned by an HEI in any of the 34 UOAs.

Submitted unit = A group or groups of staff identified by the HEI as working primarily within the remit of a UOA and included in a submission, along with evidence of the research produced during the publication period, examples of impact underpinned by research in the unit, and the structures and environment that support research and its impact.

Sub-panel = In each of the 34 UOAs an expert sub-panel of academics and research users will conduct a detailed assessment of submissions.

Sub-profile = Each of the three elements of the assessment – Strategy, people and research environment; Contribution to knowledge and understanding; Engagement and impact – will receive a sub-profile, showing the proportion of the submission that meets each of the starred quality levels.

Substantive connection = For REF2029, all outputs must have a substantive connection to the submitting institution. This must be evidenced through an eligible employment relationship (see above for definition) with an author (or equivalent) who has made a significant research contribution to the output.

Underpinning research = original research (produced at LSE) which can be shown to have contributed to impacts described in an impact case study. This may be a body of work produced over a number of years or the output(s) of one particular project. It can describe the work of one or more researcher. The eligibility period for underpinning research is 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2028.

Unit of Assessment (UOA) = the disciplinary units to which all research, impact and research environment is submitted. For REF 2029 there are 34 UoAs: Units of assessment - REF 2029.