Professor David Eastwood

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Professor David Eastwood
Chief Executive Higher Education Funding Council
for England
Research Excellence Framework Consultation
event 10, 11 and 17 January 2008
Introduction and background
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UK research excellence

• The UK has only 1 of the worlds population, but
  carries out 5 of world research, and receives
  12 of worldwide citations
• UK ranks second in the world to the USA on
  research
• Within the dual support system for research
  funding
• HEFCE block grant provides core funding for the
  research infrastructure and blue skies research
• Research Councils fund specific projects

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Research assessment reform

• The RAE has been the bedrock of our
  quality-driven funding system, and has driven up
  standards
• But it has become increasingly complex and
  onerous
• Responding to concerns, the government consulted
  during 2006 on a metrics based alternative
• It concluded that in future the system should be
  driven as far as possible by metrics
• HEFCE was asked to develop a new system with the
  following key features

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Research Excellence Framework
A UK wide framework for quality assessment and
funding in all disciplines

• Incorporating due provision for disciplinary
  diversity
• Robust indicators of research quality that are
  internationally meaningful and can drive funding
  (funding arrangements may vary by territory)
• Recognising and funding excellent research of all
  types wherever it is found, including basic,
  applied, practice-based and interdisciplinary
  research

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Key features

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Timetable

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The use of bibliometrics

• We have developed proposal for an indicator that
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• Robust at the broad subject level
• Sensitive to disciplinary differences
• Transparent
• Reduces burden and the scope for games playing
• We will not use journal impact factors
• Expert panels will oversee the process we
  invite views on how they can best do this

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Next steps the pilot
A pilot exercise in producing bibliometric
indicators of quality to run in 2008

• Covering all science based disciplines in a range
  of institutions
• To test and verify essential technical elements
  including coverage of staff and publications
• To illuminate cost and burden on HEIs and
  implications for equal opportunities
• Enable comparisons between current and new
  approaches