Equality and employment aspects of the UK Research Excellence Framework

This article analyses issues of equality and selection arising from the preparation for, and submissions to, the Research Excellence Framework 2021 (REF2021), the most recent of the UK’s cyclical research evaluation exercises, and looks ahead to REF2029. Each REF, and before it RAE, cycle has its own rules, with equality being a matter of particular focus from 2014. While the changes wrought by the Stern review led to a greater number of submitted staff in REF2021, they also potentially caused aspects of equality to be undermined by the flexibility brought about by partially decoupling authors from outputs (which also raised questions about the use of outputs by redundant staff). This article examines the equitability of the rules regarding eligibility regarding submission including the test of significant responsibility; it analyses the approaches taken to the sensitive issues of redundancy and outputs; and it considers the varied interpretations of when to apply for reductions to reflect staff circumstances before outlining potential risks and benefits to equality in the current REF cycle.