Research Excellence Framework


Research Excellence Framework

A new system for assessing the quality of research in higher education institutions in the UK, which replaces the Research Assessment Exercise (see there), last conducted in 2008.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will use the outcome of the REF to inform its research allocations to universities in England. The assessment framework and guidance on submissions contains elements that are intended to reflect the importance of clinical and applied (C&A) research in general, and research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in particular.