Tag Archives: HEFCE

Depersonalising the REF

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Athene Donald

Successive rounds of the RAE and its successor REF have always caused high levels of stress and anxiety. The associated workload is very substantial for institutions (and many individuals); the stakes are high in terms of both reputation and funding. … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Science Culture, Science Funding | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Beyond the Silo Mentality

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Athene Donald

I have been fretting about the challenges of appropriately evaluating interdisciplinary work for many years. My specific beef has been about grant assessment in the Research Councils at the interface between physics and biology, because that is where my research … Continue reading →

Posted in Interdisciplinary Science, Research | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A Basketful of Metrics?

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Athene Donald

For those who were involved with any aspect of REF2014, it had similarities to a slow speed nightmare. For those embroiled in preparing the submissions, not only was it extremely, ridiculously time-consuming, but it was also a heavy burden of … Continue reading →

Posted in Research | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Levelling the Playing Field

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Athene Donald

This article has been published in the November issue of Physics World. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE),which has been used to measure the quality of UK research for more than 20 years, has now morphed into the equally clunky sounding … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Research, Women in Science | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment