Commenting on the Independent Review of the Research Excellence Framework led by Lord Stern, GuildHE Chief Executive, Gordon McKenzie said:

“GuildHE welcomes Lord Stern’s review and its conclusion that the broad structure of the REF should be maintained. In particular, we welcome his strong endorsement for supporting excellence wherever it is found. His review explicitly acknowledges the importance of a diverse higher education sector and the need for the REF to support excellent research across institutions of different sizes and specialisms.

We argued strongly for coherence between the REF and the TEF and warmly welcome his recommendation to broaden the range of research and scholarship based activities that can be used for Impact Case Studies to include the impact of research on innovation in teaching theory and practice.

We also argued for a strong connectivity between research and industry and welcome recommendations to help address the disincentives for universities to recruit individuals from business and other sectors part way through their careers.”

ENDS

GuildHE and CREST’s initial response to the Lord Stern’s Review of the Research Excellence Framework Call for Evidence can be downloaded here.