Don't get caught offside by the REF

So this Thursday (18th December) I’ll be looking at the REF. No, not the sporting kind, but the Research Excellence Framework (REF), whose results are published. But what exactly is the REF and what has it got to do with conferences? The REF replaces the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) which last took place in 2008 and is the new system for assessing the quality of research generated by each Higher Education Institution.

The REF was undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies and managed by a team based at Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and overseen by the REF Steering Group, consisting of representatives of the four funding bodies.

Essentially this boils down to a series of expert reviews of institutions research work. The outcomes of which then dictate the selective allocation of research funding to Higher Education Institutions from 2015-16.

The outcome of REF can be a valuable tool for destinations and venues looking to search for conferences to bring to their city. A high outcome in REF will not only lead to a greater chance of funding for that department and institution, but also a higher level of prestige amongst their peers. Therefore gaining a Four star grading, indicating a world leading area of research certainly indicates an area for further research in terms of potential conferences.

With tools such as Microsoft academic search and the ICCA Big Data explorer available this should prove a fruitful time for destinations in the UK to find some excellent new conference leads and to link this to a successful conference ambassador.

For more information on the REF visit http://www.ref.ac.uk/

All information is correct at the time of publishing, we recommend that you check opening times and information for individual places before visiting.