Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
An institution restructures its internal pre-submission review around the new 'People, Culture and Environment' element.
- Is an instance
Departments pilot team-based output narratives in anticipation of REF 2029 guidance.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Assuming output-staff coupling identical to REF 2021 in REF 2029 strategy planning.
- Not an instance
Designing internal mock REF exercises with weightings drawn from REF 2014.
Editorial commentary
REF 2029 emerges from the Future Research Assessment Programme (FRAP, 2021-2023). Key changes from REF 2021 include renaming the three assessment elements to Contribution to Knowledge and Understanding (50%), Engagement and Impact (30%), and Strategy, People and Research Environment (SPRE, 20%) — SPRE succeeds REF 2021’s Environment element (REF5a/REF5b statements) and was known during its pilot phase as “People, Culture and Environment” (PCE), a working name some earlier FRAP-era proposals still circulate at a different (25%) weighting; the confirmed, current figure is 20%. SPRE is scored via an Institution-Level Statement (60% of the SPRE score) and a Unit-Level Statement (40%), each covering four sections: context/mission/strategy, people, income/infrastructure/facilities, and collaboration/engagement/impact. Other REF 2029 changes include decoupling outputs from individual researchers in a way that explicitly de-emphasises the link between staff and outputs, and broader recognition of research contributions including team science and a wider range of output types. Detailed guidance modules are being finalised through 2026 and may still see small revisions.
References
- 2029.ref.ac.uk — REF 2029 guidance, Section 7: Strategy, People and Research Environment.
- ref.ac.uk/2029. Research England Decisions on REF 2029 (2023). UKRI policy positions on responsible research assessment.
Also known as
REF2029
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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