UK finalises research assessment framework linked to £2 billion university funding

The UK has finalised the assessment framework that will determine how university research is evaluated under the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029, giving higher education institutions the criteria and guidance needed to prepare their submissions ahead of the November 2028 deadline.

The REF 2029 team published the final Guidance on Submissions and Panel Criteria and Working Methods on November 11. The documents set out how expert panels will assess the quality, impact and research environment of universities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The exercise is significant for the higher education sector because its results inform the distribution of around £2 billion in public research funding each year. The funding is allocated through the UK's four higher education funding bodies: Research England, the Scottish Funding Council, Medr and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland.

One of the key changes is the introduction of a more consistent approach across the four main assessment panels. For the first time, they have agreed shared criteria and quality definitions, part of what the REF team describes as a 'one REF' approach intended to improve consistency across academic disciplines.

Helen Cross, chair of the REF 2029 Steering Group and director of investment and research at the Scottish Funding Council, said: “UK universities are vital to the country’s future prosperity, driving knowledge and innovation, and delivering real impact felt across the UK and the world.

Across every discipline, researchers are producing work with weight and consequence far beyond the walls of any single university. REF is a powerful tool to understand the breadth and scale of what UK university research delivers.”

A more consistent approach across disciplines

The REF is the UK's system for assessing research excellence in higher education institutions. It evaluates research through expert review, with specialist panels examining submissions across different academic fields. For REF 2029, the assessment will be organised around 34 Units of Assessment, covering subject areas across the full academic spectrum. These sub-panels will work under four main panels, supported by the People and Diversity Advisory Panel and the Research Diversity Advisory Panel.

The four main panels cover medicine, health and life sciences; physical sciences, engineering and mathematics; social sciences; and arts and humanities.

The shared criteria are intended to give institutions greater clarity about how their submissions will be judged, while recognising differences in research practices across disciplines. The REF team said the common definitions are not intended to lower or raise the standard expected at each quality level, but to make their interpretation more consistent.

The framework also reiterates that research outputs should be assessed on a fair and equal basis, regardless of their format. This means no single form of research output is automatically considered more valuable than another.

Research quality, impact and environment

The assessment will continue to examine three main elements: Contribution to Knowledge and Understanding (CKU), Engagement and Impact (E&I), and Strategy, People and Research Environment (SPRE).

CKU examines the originality, significance and rigour of research outputs. E&I considers the reach and significance of the benefits arising from research beyond academia, including effects on society, public services, policy, culture and the economy.

SPRE examines the strategies, people and institutional environments that support research. This includes how universities create conditions for research, support their academic communities and sustain engagement and impact.

A notable feature of the updated framework is the development of SPRE, which replaces the earlier Research Environment element with a broader assessment of institutional and unit-level strategies, people and research conditions.

The final guidance includes separate templates for institutional-level and unit-level submissions. Universities will need to explain how their strategies and working environments support research excellence, engagement and impact.

Professor Jane Falkingham, chair of Main Panel C for Social Sciences and leader of the institutional-level SPRE working group, said: “Excellent research doesn’t happen by accident, it depends on the strategies, the people and the environments that make it possible.”

She added: “If the UK wants to keep leading the world in research, we have to properly recognise, assess and reward what produces and sustains that excellence; REF 2029 aims to deliver just that.”

The updated guidance also confirms the quantitative data that assessment panels will use, with changes from the previous REF 2021 exercise. Following feedback from a sector survey, the funding bodies have decided not to proceed with a proposed option that would have allowed institutions with a single Unit of Assessment to submit one combined SPRE template.

All institutions will instead complete both institutional-level and unit-level statements, which will be assessed separately.

Recognising contributions beyond individual researchers

The REF 2029 framework also seeks to recognise the wider range of people and contributions that sustain university research. Professor Greg Walker, chair of Main Panel D for Arts and Humanities, said the exercise had introduced changes to how research and research culture would be assessed, including separating individual researchers from the assessment of the research process and developing the SPRE element.

He said: “REF’s purpose remains the same: to recognise excellence in research wherever it is to be found, regardless of academic discipline or institution type, and to identify and reward the diversity of ways in which research is conducted, its results shared, and its benefits felt across regions, sectors, and communities.”

Professor Alis Oancea, chair of the Research Diversity Advisory Panel, said: “Research diversity is fundamental to research excellence.” She added that the panel criteria and working methods were an important step towards ensuring that research in different formats and across varied research practices was recognised and assessed fairly.

The framework also addresses the contributions of people working in different roles and at different career stages. Professor Simon Macklin, chair of the People and Diversity Advisory Panel, said: “Across the UK, research excellence depends on our research communities, built and sustained by people in a wide range of roles, from diverse backgrounds and at every career stage.”

He cautioned that publishing guidance alone would not guarantee inclusion, adding: “While words on a page cannot ensure inclusion or recognition, our continuing task is to turn these commitments into practice, learn from people’s experiences and build more inclusive research communities for the long term.”

What happens next under REF 2029?

The publication of the final guidance gives universities a clearer basis for collecting evidence and preparing submissions. Institutions will be invited to submit their research assessments from autumn 2027, with the submission deadline set for November 2028. The expert panels are expected to begin assessing submissions in early 2029, with the results scheduled for publication in December that year. The outcomes will inform the allocation of research funding from the 2030–31 academic year.

The REF team also confirmed that it expects to launch the submission system before the end of 2026. Further guidance on auditing submissions is planned for spring 2027.

Professor Tom Rodden, chair of Main Panel B for Physical Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics, said: “The UK is a world leader in research, and in how it assesses that research. Other countries look to the REF as a model for doing it rigorously and fairly.”

He added that the process helps ensure that government, funders and the public can have confidence in how university research investment is used.

With the final criteria now published, the focus shifts to universities as they prepare evidence of their research quality, wider impact and institutional environments. The results will not only provide an assessment of the UK's research base but also help shape how public research funding is distributed in the years that follow.