Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029 update

Following the UK Science Minister’s announcement last week, we will continue to work closely with Research England, the Scottish Funding Council, and the Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland to take stock of feedback from the research community.

We will build on our recent engagement with universities in Wales which has shown there is broad support for the direction of travel of the REF 2029 exercise in recognising a broader understanding of research excellence, alongside an understandable push to streamline and minimise burden.

Through the four nations steering group we will work with the REF team to agree any changes that will be announced by December 2025, and will test these against the priorities of the UK and devolved governments.

Separately, Research England have today confirmed a new programme of work related to their core institutional research funding and future approaches to research assessment. Aspects of this programme will have implications across the UK, and we will engage with Research England and the other devolved funding bodies to explore the potential for joint approaches while also considering the impact on the Welsh tertiary education and research sector.