The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It replaced the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and was completed in December 2014.
The REF was undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies. The exercise was managed by the REF team based at HEFCE and overseen by the REF Steering Group, consisting of representatives of the four funding bodies.
Aston University undertook its selection of staff for inclusion in the submission to the REF 2014 in accordance with the following principles:
In order to assess the impact of our selection on our staff, the University conducted an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) on its REF submission. Read the EIA.
The impact of Aston's research on society