Anglia Ruskin University’s academic excellence has been recognised for its great impact by the UK’s Higher Education funding bodies, in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014.
Twelve of the 15 subject areas we submitted were rated as generating world-leading research:
Overall, our improved performance translated into quality-related income from the Government of nearly £2.2m in 2014/15. This was double what we had been allocated the previous year.
The Research Excellence Framework is the system for assessing the quality of research in higher education institutions in the UK, and was operated for the first time in 2014. It replaced the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), which had operated periodically between 1992 and 2008.
We have submitted to every research assessment since 1992 and have been pleased to see the quality and scale of our research activity grow over that time. We continue to invest in and support a broad portfolio of excellent research, and the generation of real-world impact that can truly make a difference, which will in turn mean that we can continue to demonstrate our upward trajectory to the next REF, presently expected in 2021.
Our REF 2014 Code of Practice Governing the Selection of Staff for Inclusion in Submissions to the Research Excellence Framework 2014 set out the parameters for our selection of staff, and in accordance with REF requirements was published on the REF website in early 2015. In our Code of Practice, we also undertook to publish our Equality Impact Assessment in early 2014.