Duncan Shermer
Head of REF Evaluation and Development
With the publication of the PCE Pilot report, Duncan reflects on the exercise and elaborates on some of the positive outcomes from the project.
Evolving PCE into SPRE
Part of the intention of the Initial Decisions on REF 2029 was to recognise that research excellence cannot be evidenced solely through outputs; Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) must also show how they support people to do the best, most creative and innovative research. The PCE Pilot exercise allowed us to engage with that question more deeply.
As Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Executive Chair of Research England said in her blog:
“Strong research environments attract and retain diverse talent. Diverse, well-supported teams produce more novel and higher-impact research. These environments also improve wellbeing, reduce attrition and support the kind of collaboration and creativity that modern research depends on. In turn, that excellence underpins the UK’s capacity to drive innovation, improve productivity, and support economic growth. In a global research economy, these are competitive advantages – not optional extras.”
Over 18 months, 40 institutions and 170 panel members built evidence directly from the sector on what works and what’s feasible in pressured contexts. This extensive work has enabled us to develop the Strategy, People and Research Environment (SPRE) element and guidance which builds on the 2021 Environment component and reflects this evidence.
Working with people who are so passionate about supporting PCE has been one of the most rewarding parts of this process for me. The Pilot wasn’t just a tick-box exercise, it was a chance for a lot of committed individuals to bring together their invaluable experience from a huge range of roles, disciplines and institutions. Participants clearly valued the chance to come together and dig into what these changes could mean in practice. I’m hugely grateful for the ideas and perspectives shared, which have, in ways that matter, shaped the ongoing conversation and informed the SPRE guidance.
I’m delighted to see evidence from the Pilot incorporated into the SPRE guidance and that people, cultures and environments will be an important part of research assessment for REF 2029. The Pilot’s insights continue to be valuable as the panels take the SPRE guidance forward to set the criteria.
Informed by excellent practice
During the Pilot, I observed, and was involved in, many conversations that highlighted the wealth of excellent practice which is already happening in the sector. This started with discussions with the participating institutions when they were preparing their submissions, and carried through to the panel meetings during the assessment. I heard from many of the HEIs participating in the exercise that they found it incredibly valuable to examine their approaches to supporting the people that deliver their research and the culture and environment which provide its foundation. And there were many rich and compelling conversations with the assessment panels around the different approaches taken.
It is impossible to comprehensively cover all of the wonderful work that was observed by the assessment panels, but from the meetings I dropped in on there was a diverse range of exciting activities; from pilot exercises on open research publication, to the development of interdisciplinary centres of excellence; from sustainable buildings, to schemes concerning research and local participation in fieldwork; from support schemes for promotion of underrepresented groups, to policies for career support following interruption.
One clear message from the pilot was that REF 2029 guidance shouldn’t ask institutions to collect baseline data. With the pressures the sector is facing, we need to keep REF focused on its core purpose, which is to assess excellence wherever it’s found. That means avoiding duplication of statutory data that universities already report elsewhere and steering clear of measures that act as baselines rather than indicators of excellence.
Diverse contexts and approaches should be recognised
One of the strongest messages from the pilot was the need to recognise diverse contexts. Not all universities have the same mission or resources, and that’s okay. Assessment should be supportive of a wide range of approaches and excellence should be achievable in different ways. This could be through targeted strategies or broad initiatives operating at both institution and unit level. Many HEIs are in an environment of constrained resource and doing the same with less, building resilience, or maintaining an already excellent performance, which should be seen as a positive. This is why strategy has entered the title for SPRE.
As Helen Cross, Deputy Chair of the REF Steering group, said:
“[in REF 2029 HEIs will be able to demonstrate how they] grow research environments that are open, collaborative and resilient; [because] environments built on these principles attract talent, foster partnerships and deliver research that people can trust. Even in challenging times, these qualities are essential for long-term success.”
Diversity of research and diversity of institutional mission are important for REF 2029, but so is the diversity of people. As Pilot panellist Kelly Vere outlined in her recent blog, there is a clear intention in REF 2029, powered by the sector itself, to recognise the contributions of everyone who enables or leads research. That came through strongly in the Pilot and is reflected in the SPRE guidance.
We also need to have the right people involved in the assessment. The careful consideration which was given to the assessment of PCE in the Pilot is something that we are ensuring is carried through into the REF 2029 exercise through expertise on the panels as we move to form an institution-level SPRE working group.
Reflection and refinement are necessary, this is not the end of the journey
Another part of the PCE submissions that we appreciated in the pilot was the extent to which HEIs had reflected on, and evaluated the impact of, their policies on research culture, people and environment. HEIs that reflect on their performance and adapt accordingly to changing environments will be more sustainable and resilient in the long run. A key part of this includes sharing of good practices and learning, embracing innovation, and demonstrating a willingness to learn from experiences.
So, reflection and refinement are key parts of delivering an excellent and sustainable research culture, but they are also important in the outcomes of the Pilot exercise. The Pilot produced some recommendations for possible indicators that could be incorporated into assessment for REF 2029, but it also made it clear that more could be done. There are other indicators that would be ripe for development and could be incorporated into future assessments.
The Pilot highlighted excellent practice already happening across the sector and I am sure there’s even more underway. We could all do more to share that good practice and drive development of positive research culture in the sector. Above all, the Pilot experiment has shown that research culture can be assessed and is deserving of our attention; it is not just background context, but is a driver of excellence in its own right.