You can now apply to take part in the REF People, Culture and Environment (PCE) pilot as a member of an assessment panel. You have until midday on 12 July 2024 to submit your application. We will only consider applications received before this deadline.
The pilot will focus on the following Units of Assessment (UoAs):
- UoA 3 – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
- UoA 5 – Biological Sciences
- UoA 7 – Earth Systems and Environmental Science
- UoA 11 – Computer Science and Informatics
- UoA 17 – Business and Management Studies
- UoA 20 – Social Work and Social Policy
- UoA 28 – History
- UoA 33 – Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
Applications will close at midday on 12 July 2024.
Could I be involved as a panel member?
To be a panel member for the pilot you’ll need to be confident you can operate in one or more of the UoAs being tested. You can apply to more than one UoA as we recognise you may have general experience of PCE or be qualified to serve in multiple subjects. We plan to incorporate a broad range of expertise in the panels so there will be roles for assessors outside of the usual panel membership. There does need to be a strong rationale for inclusion in the pilot assessment panels so you’ll need to fulfil one or more of the following criteria:
- experience of research assessment, for example, you have served on a REF panel or other national assessment exercise
- experience of research submissions, for example, you have coordinated an institutional or unit-level submission for the REF 2021 exercise
- general expertise in PCE, for example, you have an institutional role focusing on a field related to research culture, or are involved in other groups or organisations with an active interest in PCE
Could I be involved as a panel co-chair?
We also need to appoint co-chairs to run the panels effectively. The co-chairs will be involved in the selection of the panel members and will steer the panels through their assessment. You can indicate on your application if you wish to be considered for one of these roles. Please do consider the extra workload this will involve as the co-chairs will work on the unit-level panels and on an additional panel to assess institution-level submissions that HEIs will need to produce as part of the pilot exercise. Therefore, the co-chair role will involve significant extra work.
Co-chairs will be selected first following the close of the application window. Once appointed the co-chairs will work to appoint panel members by the end of August. The REF Steering Group will make final decisions on all appointments.
What can I expect as a panel member?
If you are selected as a panel member you will need to input into the development of PCE indicators and submission/assessment templates through engagement with the PCE indicators project. This work requires your involvement in one of three workshops taking place on 20, 24 and 26 September 2024.
You will then be involved in the panels for the assessment phase from March to July 2025. It is difficult to estimate the level of effort required to review submissions and to conduct the assessment as the indicators and the assessment template are in development. However, we anticipate panel members will be involved in:
- 1 day of work to develop the PCE indicators and templates in September 2024 (as mentioned above)
- an initial training and calibration session
- 4 to 5 days of assessment meetings during the assessment period
- approximately 8 to 12 days of additional preparation time reading and evaluating PCE submissions ahead of the assessment meetings
Meetings will be a mixture of in-person and virtual.
You will also be expected to participate in the evaluation of the assessment of PCE. We anticipate gathering feedback during July and August 2025 and expect to schedule a number of workshops to gather input.
Benefits of participating
By participating as a panel member in the pilot exercise, you will receive insight into the possible processes for assessment of PCE in the REF exercise. This could be beneficial for institutions, organisations or individuals that are likely to be engaged in the full REF 2029 process, but it does not guarantee a further role in REF 2029.
If you participate in the pilot as a panel member we will pay you an honorarium of £4,000. Co-chairs of panels will be paid a fee of £14,000.
How to apply
Click on the ‘Apply to participate in the Pilot panel’ button on this page to apply to be a panel member and/or a co-chair. This will open an application page for you where you have to complete the answers in one go.
These are the questions so you can prepare your answers offline.
About you
- First name
- Last name
- Email – please use your organisation’s email address
- Job title
Which organisation do you work for?
- Select your organisation from a list
What experience do you have?
Please provide details of your experience. You must complete at least one of the first 3 sections (300 words maximum for each section)
- Research assessment
- REF submissions
- General PCE experience
- Optional section: any additional experience you would like us to know about
Which units of assessment (UoA) are you confident you can operate in?
- See list above for details of the UoAs included in the pilot
Would you like to be a panel co-chair?
- Yes or No
Applications will close at midday on 12 July 2024.
Please be sure that you have the authority to commit to this project.
If you have any questions, please contact info@ref.ac.uk using the subject “PCE Pilot panel recruitment”.