The Research Excellence Framework (REF)

What The Research Excellence Framework (REF) does

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the United Kingdom's statutory system for assessing the quality of research in higher education institutions. Established in 2014 as the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), REF is operated by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies: Research England, the Scottish Funding Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland. Its primary function is to produce a graded profile of research quality across UK universities, which in turn informs the allocation of approximately £2 billion per year in Quality-Related research funding to higher education institutions.

REF operates on a multi-year cycle, with the most recent full exercise conducted in 2021 covering 157 UK higher education institutions across 34 units of assessment organised into four main panels (A: Medicine, health and life sciences; B: Physical sciences, engineering and mathematics; C: Social sciences; and D: Arts and humanities). Submissions are made through a web-based platform that captures research outputs, impact case studies, and information about the research environment. Each submission is evaluated through structured peer review involving expert panels drawn from the academic community. The next full exercise, REF 2029, is in the early stages of policy development, with initial criteria under consultation as of January 2024.

The organisation itself is a small statutory function rather than a commercial enterprise: it operates with a core team of approximately 8 employees, supplemented by a wider pool of panel members and assessors engaged for each cycle. Its outputs are public good rather than priced products, and its funding flows through the established UK higher education funding architecture. In January 2024 REF launched a pilot of a new People, Culture and Environment (PCE) component, which broadens its scope to assess institutional research culture beyond the traditional elements of outputs, impact and environment.

Name

The Research Excellence Framework (REF)

Legal name

The Research Excellence Framework (REF)

Website

https://ref.ac.uk

Company type

Public

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK's statutory system for assessing research quality across higher education institutions, operated by UKRI on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies and informing the allocation of around £2 billion annually in public research funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Research Assessment

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional Effectiveness & Continuous Improvement Reviews (EDADAGAD), Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Research quality assessment
• Higher education funding
• Research evaluation framework
• Academic peer review
• UK research policy

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

REF is the UK's national system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions through expert peer review conducted by sub-panels focused on 34 subject-based units of assessment under the guidance of overarching main panels and advisory panels. It informs the allocation of approximately £2 billion per year of public research funding to UK HEIs, provides accountability for public investment in research, and produces evidence of research benefits. The framework operates as a multi-cycle exercise (most recently 2021, next planned for 2029) with associated web portals, results databases, and pilot programs such as the People, Culture and Environment (PCE) Pilot.

Product overview

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK's system for assessing research quality in higher education institutions. It operates as a multi-cycle assessment framework with dedicated web portals for each exercise (REF 2029, 2021, 2014). The REF ecosystem includes the main REF 2029 website portal providing guidance and news, the REF 2021 results database containing submissions from 157 institutions across 34 units of assessment, the REF 2014 Impact Case Studies database with searchable case studies of research impact, the People Culture and Environment (PCE) Pilot exercise testing new assessment indicators, and the PCE Indicators Project developing frameworks for assessing research culture. The REF is delivered by the REF team based at Research England on behalf of four UK funding bodies and informs allocation of around £2 billion per year in public research funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• REF 2029 Assessment Exercise Full assessment exercise evaluating research quality at UK HEIs across 34 units of assessment, informing the allocation of block-grant research funding. Targeted at all UK higher education institutions receiving public research funding.
• People, Culture and Environment (PCE) Pilot Pilot exercise testing the assessment of people, culture and environment elements for REF 2029, including indicators framework and submission templates. Targeted at 40 selected UK higher education institutions including Anglia Ruskin University, Aston University, Cardiff University, University of Oxford, and University of Glasgow.
• REF 2021 Results and Submissions Database Online database containing REF 2021 assessment results, submitted outputs details, impact case study database, and environment database for 157 UK HEIs across 34 units of assessment. Publicly accessible reference resource.
• REF Impact Case Studies Database Searchable online database of REF 2014 impact case studies covering changes and benefits to economy, society, culture, public policy, health, environment and quality of life across UK and globally. Available to the public, researchers, and institutions as evidence of research impact.

Quantifiable outcome

• £2 billion per year public research funding allocated based on REF outcomes
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered key development partner, infrastructure partner, core governance, core governance - lead admin and data partner.

• Technopolis and Vitaekey development partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Commissioned by funding bodies in January 2024 to develop indicators and template for People, Culture and Environment (PCE) assessment in REF 2029. The project engaged extensively with the research community through workshops and surveys.
• Jiscinfrastructure partnerTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Partnered with the four UK funding bodies and REF team to provide technical infrastructure including HESA data systems and the Open Policy Finder tool for open access compliance checking.
• Medr - Commission for Tertiary Education and Researchcore governanceOthersOne of four UK funding bodies responsible for overseeing the REF. Medr is the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research for Wales.
• UKRI Research Englandcore governance - lead adminOthersResearch England, part of UK Research and Innovation, hosts the REF team and is the lead administrative body coordinating the REF exercise on behalf of all four funding bodies.
• Scottish Funding Councilcore governanceOthersOne of four UK funding bodies responsible for overseeing the REF for Scottish higher education institutions.
• Department for the Economy Northern Irelandcore governanceOthersOne of four UK funding bodies responsible for overseeing the REF for Northern Irish higher education institutions.
• Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)data partnerTechnology or IntegrationHESA collects staff record data used in REF submissions. The REF team worked with HESA to enable amendment processes for REF-specific fields within the 2025/26 HESA Staff record collection.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Italian VQR (Valutazione della Qualità della Ricerca): VQR is Italy's national research assessment exercise run by ANVUR, evaluating the quality of research outputs at universities and research institutions. It mirrors REF in functioning as a periodic, expert-panel-driven exercise that influences the allocation of national research funding.
• Netherlands Standard Evaluation Protocol (SEP): The SEP is the Netherlands' standard protocol for periodic evaluation of research quality at universities and research institutes. It is comparable to REF as a national, peer-review-driven framework used to assess institutional research performance and inform funding and strategic decisions.
• Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA): ERA is Australia's national framework for evaluating research quality at universities, administered by the Australian Research Council. It is a direct analog of REF in scope, structure, and purpose: assessing research outputs across discipline clusters and informing research funding allocation to higher education institutions.

Others

• Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA): HESA is the UK higher education data collection body that supplies staff record data underpinning REF submissions. It is comparable as a critical data infrastructure enabler for the REF exercise, providing the empirical foundation for institutional submissions and REF-specific fields.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): UKRI is REF's parent governance entity, hosting the REF team via Research England and coordinating the framework on behalf of the four UK funding bodies. It is comparable as the overarching public-sector research administration organisation under which REF operates.

Regional players

• Hong Kong Research Assessment Exercise (RAE): Hong Kong's RAE is a regional research assessment exercise administered by the University Grants Committee. It is comparable to REF as a peer-review-based framework that evaluates research at funded institutions and informs block-grant research funding allocations, but it operates within a separate territory.
• New Zealand Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF): PBRF is New Zealand's mechanism for assessing the research performance of tertiary education organisations and allocating research funding accordingly. It is comparable to REF as a national framework linking peer-reviewed quality assessment to public research funding, but serves a different geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Research_Excellence_Framework
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-research-excellence-framework-ref

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Research Excellence Framework (REF)