REF 2028 at a glance: what has been announced

A first look at what shape the Research Excellence Framework 2028 will take

Following two years of exploration into what the UK’s next national research assessment exercise should look like, the Future Research Assessment Programme has completed its work.

Today, on behalf of the four UK funding bodies—Research England, the Scottish Funding Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and the Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland—Research England has outlined the early decisions that have been taken on the shape of the next exercise. It says the new approach to research assessment will move the focus from the performance of individuals to how institutions and disciplines contribute to creating a healthy research environment.