On Friday 5 September 2025, the UK Science Minister Patrick Vallance announced a three-month pause on the work of the 2029 Research Excellence Framework (REF). This was to evaluate and reflect on how the framework can best assess research excellence by reducing bureaucracy.
On Wednesday 10 December 2025 at the Universities UK Research and Innovation Conference the pause ended with announcement of key changes. The direction of travel is based on wide consultation and a major research pilot project on ‘people, culture, and environments’, involving 40 organisations and assessments across 115 environments. The consultation has demonstrated that there is no single model of a good research environment and that diversity across institutions must be recognised.
REF 2029 aims to ensure that research assessment better reflects how institutions create supportive and inclusive environments that enable excellent research and innovation, which delivers societal benefit. There will be a strong focus on how people and organisations are supported to do their best work, rather than just ‘outputs’. In order to reduce burden existing information and practices should be used wherever possible, with changes designed to be proportionate and accessible, particularly for smaller units and institutions. Lessons from REF 2021 and pilot exercises have shaped the REF 2029 framework; data sources such as HESA are intended to modernise processes and reduce administrative load.
Looking beyond England, additional work is underway to ensure alignment with Welsh Government priorities and the vision for tertiary education in Wales, including recognition of wider research and innovation environments and engagement beyond academia.
Here are the key decisions from the announcement:
- Contribution to Knowledge and Understanding [CKU formerly ‘Outputs’] has increased from 50% to 55%. Discipline-level statement has been entirely removed with a greater call for ‘diverse outputs’, encouraging different types of knowledge practices.
- Engagement and Impact [E & I formerly ‘Impact’] will use the REF 2021 templates for impact case studies [25%] and will be without discipline-level statement. Narratives about engagement across research lifecycles that enable and enhance impact through mechanisms such as co-production, participatory, and civic engagement are welcome. This is a notable change from the previous model, which was solely ‘Impact’.
- People, Culture and Environment will be renamed Strategy, People, Research and Environment [SPRE]. The template will resemble REF 2021 with indicators from the PCE pilot. The weighing is down to 20% to reflect the reduced scope and will mainly be assessed at institutional level [60%] with some aspects at Unit of Assessment level [40%]. This aims to recognise leadership, culture, and strategic investment.
The overall message from December’s announcement is that the reforms are aimed to make the Research Excellence Framework fairer, clearer, and more reflective of real research practice by valuing people, culture, and environments alongside excellence and impact. This sits alongside the four broad approaches of research excellence and culture as outlined by the UK Science Minister Patrick Vallance:
- Supporting, protecting and growing curiosity-driven research
- Applied research: collaborative problem-solving with practical solutions to answer society needs
- Supporting research & development within the start-ups and spin-outs ecosystem
- Investing in infrastructure and people and valuing diverse perspectives
REF 2029 has not been an easy road to travel. However, with the recent announcements that encourages greater collaboration between curiosity driven and applied research, developing and nurturing partners outside academia, then we can look towards a brighter future where research excellence matters and is valued, and its contribution to society can be seen clearly by our citizens. A framework that is flexible, responsive, and demonstrates the public benefit, as well as valuing diverse perspectives is the framework we can get behind.
For further sector responses to the REF 2029 announcement follow the links below: