Our Code of Practice for REF 2021 has been approved by Research England.

The Code outlines our approach to some of the major elements of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) for 2021. This includes how we are identifying staff who have “significant responsibility for research” and are independent researchers.

The Code also sets out how we are selecting outputs to submit the REF, where people can declare personal circumstances that may have impacted on their ability to research productively during the REF period of 2014 to 2020, and our process for appealing REF decisions. It was developed through consultation with staff across the institution at all levels, and discussions with representatives from UCU.

All higher education institutions planning to make a submission to REF 2021 were required by Research England and the other sector funding bodies to prepare a Code of Practice, setting out their approach to these key areas. Institutions cannot submit to the REF without an approved Code of Practice.

The draft Codes were reviewed by the REF Equality and Diversity Panel (EDAP), to ensure they met the requirements and appropriately addressed equality and diversity.

The University of Portsmouth’s REF Code of Practice was approved in early November, and is available on the REF 2021 website.

Any staff with questions about REF are welcome to contact the University’s REF Team in Research & Innovation Services (RIS) on ref@port.ac.uk.