REF and Research Policy

Strategic Planning manage the University's Research Excellence Framework submission and oversee other aspects of research policy and strategy. Other areas in the University also have responsibility for research support and research commercialisation including the three Colleges and twenty two schools, Edinburgh Research Office, Institute for Academic Development, Edinburgh Innovations and the Library Research Support team.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the system used to assess the quality of research in UK HEIs The University made its submission to REF2021 and the results will be published on 12 May 2022. The results of REF2021 will provide information about the quality of a university's research and are expected to inform research funding.