Research assessment and the shaping of educational research in the UK

Abstract

Research assessment has been taking place in the UK approximately every 5 years since 1986; over the intervening three decades, the system has been constantly changed and developed, becoming ever more sharply defined. For example, the system has regularly changed its name—initially called the ‘Research Selectivity Exercise’ it then became the ‘Research Assessment Exercise’ (RAE); for 2014 it has become the ‘Research Excellence Framework’ (REF). More importantly, in order to increase differentiation, 2008 saw a raising of the bar in terms of ‘international excellence’ with three different levels being defined (‘world-leading’, ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘internationally recognised’) and the introduction of institutional ‘profiles’ of achievement, rather than absolute scores. 2014 is also to include a whole new important dimension for competitive assessment—‘research impact’. Nevertheless, despite these constant changes, research assessment has become deeply embedded in the UK higher education system and is now one of the key drivers of institutional competitiveness; it is part and parcel of modern ‘entrepreneurial university’ (Marginson and Considine 2000). In this short paper I only have space to comment on three important consequences of 30 years of research assessment in the UK. The first and perhaps most significant factor is change in the size and shape of the educational research system as measured by the RAE/REF. This, in complex ways, has had consequences for the other two issues I consider: funding and quality. I also argue that it is through these key factors that the RAE/REF has become a major force in the shaping of