Rama Thirunamachandran

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• Rama Thirunamachandran
• Director for Research and Knowledge Transfer,
  HEFCE

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Summary

• Brief history of dual support and the RAE
• Potential issues with the old RAE model
• Reform of the RAE
• RAE 2008 - process
• RAE team at HEFCE from Summer 2004

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Sources of research income ( million)
for HE institutions in England (2001-02)
TOTAL 2.9 billion
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Dual Support (1)

• HEFCE funding is one arm of dual support
• the well found laboratory, infrastructure and
  staff to support project funding from other
  sources
• continuity, dynamism and the freedom to undertake
  blue skies research and to respond quickly to
  new ideas

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Dual Support (2)

• Funding from 6 Research Councils plus one
• Economic and Social
• Engineering and Physical Sciences
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
• Particle Physics and Astronomy
• Medical
• Natural Environment
• Arts and Humanities Research Board soon to
  become a Research Council

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Assessing excellence Research Assessment
Exercise (RAE)

• RAE a system for assessing research that both
  informs funding and demonstrates the power of the
  national research base
• Periodic UK-wide assessment exercises covering
  the whole HE research base (1986, 1989, 1992,
  1996, 2001)
• Reviewed in 2003

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How RAE works

• Peer review 68 subjects
• HEIs submit under subjects they choose
• Submissions in standard format staff
  publications grants research student data
  strategy
• Peer review panel make judgements on a 7 point
  scale 1 5

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Improvement over time submissions
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Improved ratings for total submitted staff over
time
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Problems

• Distortion of institutional mission
• Effects on sustainability of research
• Games playing behaviour on publications staff
  recruitment etc
• Administrative burden
• The need to recognise all aspects of excellence
• Disciplinary structure of the RAE
• Identifying pockets of excellence

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RAE 2008 - the story so far
Roberts Review (May 2003)
Consultation closed 30/09/03. Funding bodies then
agreed line and cleared with the four governments
Funding bodies decisions
Published as RAE 01/2004 Initial decisions of
the UK funding bodies
Consultation published as RAE 02/2004 Panel
configuration and recruitment
Initial Decisions (Feb 2004)
Proposed panel configuration (March 2004)
Consultation closes 21 May 2004. Identity of
panels announced July 2004.
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Key reforms

• Grade profile
• Two tier panel structure greater consistency
• Fairer treatment of applied, practice-based and
  inter-disciplinary research
• Greater use of discipline specific metrics

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Former RAE rating to be replaced by quality
profile
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RAE 2008 panel structure
67 Units of assessment

prepare submissions in
assessed by
UK HEIs
67 sub-panels
provide quality profiles to
provide advice to
15 main panels
RAE team
finalise results
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Who is in charge?

• The RAE is operated by HEFCE on behalf of
• the four UK funding bodies
• HEFCE will host the RAE Team and provides
• support services for the exercise
• Funding decisions are taken by each funding
• body acting independently of the others

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What Next?

July 2004 Finalise panel configuration Summer
2004 RAE Manager in position July-Nov 2004
Recruit panel members November 2004 Guidance
for panels (generic rules of the RAE)
published Jan/Feb 2005 Panel meetings begin June
2005 Guidance on submissions published August 20
05 Draft panel criteria and working methods
published for consultation November
2005 Final criteria and working methods
published