In REF 2029 there are four main panels which provide leadership and guidance to a group of sub-panels:
- Main panel A: Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
- Main panel B: Physical Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics
- Main panel C: Social Sciences
- Main panel D: Arts and Humanities
There is one sub-panel per REF Unit of Assessment (UoA). REF 2029 will retain the REF 2021 UoA structure with four main panels and 34 UoAs.
All panels, (main and sub-panels), work within a generic framework to develop the assessment criteria and to conduct the assessments. In developing detailed guidance and criteria for the assessment, our starting point is that the approach should be consistent across the exercise, unless there are justifiable reasons for main or sub-panels to vary the approach in specific areas.
The main panels carry out different phases of work:
- 2025 to 2026: define the panel criteria and working methods in detail.
- 2027: develop preparations for assessment phase.
- 2028 to 2029: assess submissions and deliver the assessment outcomes.
The main panels hold responsibility for:
- matters of academic judgement in REF 2029
- working with the REF team on recruitment and appointment of sub-panel chairs, deputy chairs and members
- establishing the panel assessment criteria and working methods for the exercise and working with the sub-panels within each main panel to consider the needs of different UoAs
- providing advice on wider REF 2029 guidance and working with the sub-panels during the assessment period to:
- ensure adherence to the criteria, working methods and REF advisory panel guidance
- calibrate the assessment standards between sub-panels and ensure the consistent application across the framework of the overall assessment standards
- signing off assessment outcomes for all submissions made to the sub-panels, based on the work and advice of the sub-panels
- providing confidential feedback on submissions, working with the REF 2029 Advisory Panels to embed priorities throughout the exercise
- acting as ambassadors for REF 2029, championing the connection of the exercise with the research community
- providing advice as requested by the REF team and the four UK higher education funding bodies (Research England, Scottish Funding Council, Medr, Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland) on aspects of the assessment process
- producing a final report on the state of research in the disciplines covered by the sub-panels and its wider impacts, and making recommendations for future UK research assessment