School of Biology REF2021 results
REF (the Research Excellence Framework) is an exercise that looks periodically (the previous REF was in 2014) across the UK at university output (the quality of research papers), environment (people, facilities etc) and impact (how research helps society and industry). Submissions are ranked as 4* to 1*, with 4* being ‘world-leading’, 3* being ‘internationally excellent’, 2* being ‘recognised internationally’, and 1* being ‘recognised nationally’ (unclassified output ‘falls below the standard of nationally recognised work’).
To save you time ploughing through the numerous tables. Here is a summary:
- Between 1 and 5 papers per academic were submitted by the School of Biology (a total of 140 papers across 59.1 full time equivalent staff; 100% of those eligible were included), and 5 impact cases.
- Grade Point Averages will be used to rank output, environment, and impact scores, and to determine an overall score (based on 60% output, 25% impact and 15% environment).
- However, position in these ranks is often based on small fractions of GPA and is not a robust relative score. Note that in 2014, submission was 4 papers per academic, and overall score was weighted 65/20/15%, so direct comparisons between years are difficult.
- The 2021 REF league-table headlines are that, overall, the University and the School of Biology (‘School of Biology’ in Unit of Assessment 5, ‘Biological Sciences’) have slipped from 19th to 28th (University) and 16th to 27th (School of Biology) in the UK.
- However, quality has improved (GPAs increasing from 3.13 to 3.31 University, and from 3.16 to 3.22 School of Biology).
- In Biology, our proportion of world-leading (4*) output has increased from 33% to 38%.
- We have maintained 84% of our output in 4* and 3* combined (exactly the same as 2014; 3* has gone down by 5%).
- On outputs, our GPA has risen from 2.96 to 3.26, and our ranking has risen from 26th to 22nd.
- We have jumped in to the top 20 on environment (from 26 to 18) – despite the catastrophic fire – which we take as a strong endorsement of our cultivation of PDRFs, the investment in SOI, and our then Silver Athena Swan award (now Gold).
- Seventy percent of our impact is 4* or 3*: we do a lot of research that contributes positively and tangibly to society, and our impact is considerably above the sector average. Despite this, though, we were unable to repeat our outstanding 2014 result with the impact case portfolio.
As ever, you can look at these data in lots of different ways and many institutions will certainly present it as such, but I for one am very proud of what we have achieved under the most extreme conditions.
Frank Gunn-Moore, Biology Head of School
Andy Brierley, Director of Research