In REF 2029 the assessment of outputs will be expanded to include the assessment of the University's Contribution to Knowledge and Understanding (CKU) within specific disciplinary areas, and will contribute 50% of the overall quality profile. Assessment of the Contribution to Knowledge and Understanding will include submission of outputs and an explanatory statement.
Initial decisions for REF2029 include:
- the submission of 2.5 outputs per FTE of volume-contributing staff in each disciplinary area where there is activity.
- volume contributing staff to be determined by averaged values from HESA staff returns in 2025/26 and 2026/27, with a pilot year running in 2024/25.
- outputs to be considered eligible, where there is a demonstrable and substantive link to the submitting institution within the REF assessment period, 01 January 2021 to 31 December 2028, and, for journal article and conference contributions with an ISSN, were open access requirements are met or an appropriate exemption applied.
- the proposed removal of the minimum or maximum output requirements for individual staff members, with units required to explain how their submitted output pool is representative of the research undertaken within the disciplinary area.
More information on this element of assessment is expected in Summer 2025
Open Access
In August 2024, following the REF 2029 open access consultation which ran from 18 March to 17 June, REF announced some early decisions on the REF 2029 Open Access Policy. A summary of the consultation can be found here.
Early decisions on open access included:
- confirmation that the REF 2021 Open Access Policy submission requirements will continue to apply to journal articles and conference proceedings until succeeded by the new policy no earlier than 1 January 2026.
- notice that outputs meeting the UKRI Open Access Policy requirements will be recognised as fully meeting REF Open Access requirements with no further steps required.
- confirmation that there will be no longform open access mandate for REF 2029, however an open access requirement for submission of longform outputs will be in place for the next assessment exercise, with implementation from 1 January 2029
In December 2024 REF published the full REF 2029 Open Access Policy
The REF 2029 Open Access Policy notes that:
- The REF 2021 policy will apply to Journal articles and conference contributions with and ISSN published between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2025.
- The new REF 2029 policy will apply to Journal articles and conference contributions with and ISSN published between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2028.
- Date of publication means the date that the final ‘version of record’ (VOR) is first made publicly available (such as on the publisher’s website). This will usually mean that any ‘early online’ date, rather than the print publication date, should be taken as the date of publication.
- Pre-print articles or any other output types without an ISSN, are not subject to the open access requirements for submission.
- There is no open access requirement in REF 2029 for any other output types (e.g. longform outputs, including monographs, book chapters and scholarly editions). This will be implemented at the start of the next exercise.
- The funding bodies continue to encourage institutions to make other types of outputs available as open access, where appropriate and HEIs can demonstrate where and how they have gone beyond the minimum requirements and highlight best practice and innovative approaches for publication within the People, Culture and Environment element of their submission.
- From 01 January 2026 embargo periods have been reduced. Allowable embargo periods for outputs submitted to main panels A and B are six months, reduced from 12 months and for outputs submitted to main panels C and D are 12 months, reduced from 24 months
- Policy exceptions will still be available, including deposit, access and technical exceptions.
Guidance on how to make sure your publication is compliant with the REF2021 and upcoming REF2029 policy is available from our open access team openacces@abdn.ac.uk