References on this page refer to the paragraph numbers within the 'Guidance on submissions' (GOS) and the 'Panel criteria and working methods' (PC).
Environment will consistent of five elements:
REF4a: each submission will include the number of research doctoral degrees awarded in each academic year 2013/14 to 2019/20 to students supervised within the unit. The data will be sourced from HESA data for distribution between units (GOS 339-345).
REF4b: each submission will include data on the submitted unit's external research income for each academic year 2013/14 to 2019/20. The data will be sourced from HESA data for distribution between units (GOS 346- 352).
REF4c: the estimated value of Research Council facility time allocated through peer review and used by researchers at submitted units will be provided to us to allocate between units (GOS 353-358).
Institutional-level environment (REF5a): Information is required about the institution's strategy and resources to support research and enable impact (GOS 359-365). One statement will be required for each submitting institution and will be used to inform the unit-level environment assessment (REF5b) and will not be scored separately. Information to be submitted includes:
- Context and mission: an overview of the size, structure and mission of the institution.
- Strategy: the institution's strategy for research and enabling impact (including integrity, open research, and structures to support interdisciplinary research) in the assessment period and for the next five year period.
- People: the institution's staffing strategy, support and training of research students, and building on the information provided in codes of practice, evidence about how equality and diversity in research careers is supported and promoted across the institution.
- Income, infrastructure and facilities: the institutional-level resources and facilities available to support research, including mechanisms for supporting the reproducibility of research as appropriate to the research focus of the HEI, and to facilitate its impact.
Unit-level environment (REF5b): information is required about the environment for research and enabling impact for each submitting unit (GOS 366-373). The Main Panels have provided considerable detail about the relevant information expected within each section of the template (PC 342-361). The assessment will be informed by the institutional-level environment, and therefore should not duplicate information.
- Unit context, research and impact strategy.
- People, including: staffing strategy and staff development; research students; equality and diversity.
- Income, infrastructure and facilities
- Collaboration and contribution to the research base, economy and society.
Use of metrics: both the institutional and unit-level environment templates are invited to draw on a range of supporting qualitative indicators, where applicable, to support claims made in the narrative. The Forum for Responsible Research Metrics have developed advice and a range of appropriate indicators (PC 339-341).