REF 2021 Code of Practice Contents Part 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Edge Hill University culture and ethos ......................................................................................... 3 1.2 Developments since REF 2014 ................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Purpose of Code of Practice ........................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Principles ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Part 2: Identifying staff who are to be submitted to REF 2021 – understanding the principles ................ 8 2.1 Determining research independence of staff on research-only contracts .................................. 10 2.2 Identifying staff on teaching and research contracts who have significant responsibility for research ................................................................................................................................................. 11 Figure 1: Criteria for identifying staff for REF 2021 ................................................................................ 13 Part 3: Procedure at Edge Hill for identifying staff to be submitted (Category A submitted) .................. 14 Figure 2: Determining significant responsibility for research .................................................................. 15 3.1 REF Decisions Panel ................................................................................................................. 16 3.2 Training for committees and decision panels ............................................................................. 16 3.3 Appeals ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 3: Appeals process ..................................................................................................................... 18 Table 1: REF appeals process deadlines .............................................................................................. 18 3.4 Equality impact assessment (EqIA) ........................................................................................... 19 Part 4: Selection of outputs .................................................................................................................... 20 4.1 Peer review ................................................................................................................................ 20 Figure 4: Peer review process ............................................................................................................... 21 4.2 Decisions on final output selection ............................................................................................. 22 4.3 Disclosure of circumstances ...................................................................................................... 22 Figure 5: What are personal circumstances? ........................................................................................ 24 4.4 Process for disclosing personal circumstances ......................................................................... 24 Figure 6: Why should I disclose my personal circumstances? ............................................................... 26 Figure 7: How do I disclose my personal circumstances? ..................................................................... 27 Table 2: Timeline for requesting reductions in the output pool .............................................................. 28 Table 3: Calculation for determining whether to request a reduction in outputs for UOAs ..................... 30 Research Office Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 31 Appendix 1. Code of Practice consultation ............................................................................................ 32 Appendix 2. EHU Equality and Diversity Policy .................................................................................... 37 Appendix 3. CoP communication and training plan ............................................................................... 44 Appendix 4. Deliberative and decision-making panels ........................................................................... 49 Appendix 5. UOA roles and responsibilities ........................................................................................... 54 Appendix 6. Appeal proforma ................................................................................................................ 58 Appendix 7. Open Access Policy ........................................................................................................... 61 Appendix 8. How to propose your outputs in Pure ................................................................................. 63 Appendix 9. Peer review form ................................................................................................................ 81 Appendix 10. Calculations for reductions due to personal circumstances ............................................. 83 Appendix 11. Personal circumstance disclosure form ........................................................................... 87 Appendix 12. Privacy notice .................................................................................................................. 93 Appendix 13. Research degree supervision criteria ............................................................................. 102 Appendix 14. Equality Impact Assessments ........................................................................................ 105 REF 2021 Code of Practice addendum ............................................................................................... 111 Part 1: Introduction The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a process of expert review undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies to: • provide accountability for public investment in research and produce evidence of the benefits of this investment. • provide benchmarking information and establish reputational yardsticks, for use within the higher education sector and for public information. • inform the selective allocation of funding for research. This Code of Practice is to help you, as an Edge Hill employee, to understand key issues around the University’s REF 2021 submission and how this affects you as a member of staff with a teaching and/or research contract. Edge Hill University_REF2021 Code of Practice Page 2 of 112 Research Office 1.1 Edge Hill University culture and ethos As part of our commitment to ensure that the REF management process is as inclusive as possible, the University has established this Code of Practice to provide transparency, consistency, accountability and to address the issues of equality and diversity in the preparation of our REF 2021 submissions. The Code has been informed by guidance from Advance HE, information from Research England/the REF Team, best practice of other HEIs and consultation with Edge Hill University's academic staff (appendix 1). The final version is submitted for approval by Research England, who will publish it via its REF 2021 website. This Code is developed in alignment with our overall approach to equality and diversity, which is outlined in our Equality and Diversity Policy updated in 2018 (appendix 2). Our commitment to this is not just to comply with legal requirements but is the ethos which underpins our approach to staff support to help everyone reach their potential, whether through research performance or other activities. Edge Hill University was founded as the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in 1885 and that ethos of providing opportunity through education has continued to drive our culture of providing access to education for all. This continues today as the University strives to be an equal opportunities employer and, as such, is committed to preventing and challenging discrimination based on any protected characteristic. Edge Hill University aspires to be recognised as undertaking research of the highest quality. We value all high-quality research, including supporting researchers to explore sensitive subjects and use innovative methods. Research is at the core of everything the University does, not least because research activity is inextricably linked to excellent teaching and to deep levels of student engagement. We promote the growth and development of research because: a) The generation of new insights, especially in relation to external challenges, brings important benefits for society, culture and the economy and, therefore, impacts positively on our community. b) An environment which values and nurtures research is essential for attracting and retaining national and international staff and students of the highest quality; who enrich our cultural diversity and reflect our commitment to inclusivity. c) Staff expertise in research provides the platform on which to build successful teaching programmes. d) Excellence in research is a major factor in enhancing Edge Hill’s reputation and it makes a direct and unique contribution to the ethos of our University. e) The applications of research provide