BU Research Blog

The University is currently preparing to take part in the first Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment, which is a national exercise to assess the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. To ensure that the University abides by its principles of transparency, consistency, accountability and inclusivity in preparing and finalising the BU submission to the REF, the BU REF 2014 Code of Practice (v2), BU REF Frequently Asked Questions and BU REF Individual Staff Circumstances Disclosure Form have been developed and are now being formally disseminated to all BU academic staff to ensure all eligible staff are fully informed.

These documents are also available on the BU Research Blog under the ‘REF’ tab.

How is this relevant to you?

If you are planning on submitting to the REF2014 assessment, there is a possibility that you might be eligible for a reduction of outputs, depending on your individual circumstances (please see link for more information).

What action do I need to take?

To find out if you are eligible for REF submission, please see section 3.1 of the BU REF 2014 Code of Practice and ‘Staff eligibility’ in the BU REF FAQs. You are then encouraged to complete the disclosure form. If further information is required about any circumstances disclosed, you will be contacted by a member of the HR team involved in the REF. You should print out, sign and return your completed form marked ‘REF Confidential’ to Judith Wilson, HR Manager, M601, Melbury House, 1-3 Oxford Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8ES. Alternatively, you can also email your completed form to refcircumstances@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Further information

The BU REF Circumstances Board next meet in May 2013 so if you feel that you have circumstances which you wish to disclose, please do so as soon as possible.

For more information on BU REF2014, please click on ‘ref’ on the right-hand tab, which will take you to all previous blog posts on all things REF.

Please feel free to get in touch with me or Rita Dugan (rdugan@bournemouth.ac.uk) if you wish to speak to someone about your REF eligibility.