The College participated in the HEFCE pilot to assess how impact might be measured in the REF.  The College provided information for two of the five subject groupings which form part of the pilot: Clinical Medicine and Physics.  The full list of subject groupings included in the pilot were:

  • Clinical Medicine
  • Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences
  • Physics
  • Social Work and Social Policy & Administration
  • English Language & Literature

Pilot submissions were made on 15 March 2010.  Each submission to the pilot comprised the following:

  • Case studies: One case study per 10 FTE of staff submitted to RAE08 (as an approximation of research volume).  Each case study detailed the economic and social benefits evident during the period 2005-2009 within the discipline.  This must have been underpinned by research activity (for example publications) attributed to the submitting institution, published from 1993 or later.
  • Impact statement: An overarching narrative detailing the discipline's interactions with research users, supported by indicators of impact (for example research income) for the submitting unit.

The College was one of 29 institutions that took part in the pilot of impact for the REF.

Showcase area

List of institutions taking part

  • University of Bristol
  • Brunel University
  • University of Cambridge
  • Cardiff University
  • De Montfort University
  • University of Durham
  • University of East Anglia
  • University of Exeter
  • Imperial College London
  • Keele University
  • Kingston University
  • Lancaster University
  • University of Leeds
  • Liverpool John Moores University
  • London School of Economics and Political Science
  • London South Bank University
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Oxford
  • University of Plymouth
  • Queen Mary University London
  • University College London
  • University of Warwick
  • University of York
  • University of Dundee
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of St Andrews
  • University of Stirling
  • Swansea University
  • University of Ulster
Timetable
TimingActivity
 Nov 2009  Initiation of the REF impact pilot
 Nov - Dec 2009  HEFCE recruit REF impact pilot panel members
 Nov 2009 - Feb 2010  HEIs prepare submissions
 15 March 2010  Deadline for REF impact pilot HEI submissions to HEFCE
 March to May 2010  Assessment phase
 Workshops on impact
 June to July 2010  HEFCE gather feedback from panels and HEIs
 Autumn 2010  Conclusions and decisions on impact in the REF
 Publication of the REF impact pilot outcomes
Summary of the table's conten

Outcomes

HEFCE's summary stated that “the pilot showed it is possible to assess impacts arising from research” in the disciplines include in the pilot. 

Report from the chairs of the five pilot expert panels sets out their findings and recommendations for the assessment of impact in the REF.

Report from Technopolis Group provides feedback from the 29 pilot institutions on the experience of making their impact submissions to the pilot exercise.

Examples: The report on the pilot of impact in the REF, in which the College participated, provides examples of exemplary impact case studies for Clinical Medicine (pdf); Physics (pdf); Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences (pdf); Social Work and Social Policy (pdf); and English Language and English Literature (pdf).

Further information on the REF impact pilot can be found on the HEFCE website.