ECU welcomes commitment to promoting fairness in the Research Excellence Framework

Equality Challenge Unit is pleased to see that the funding councils are serious about developing a Research Excellence Framework (REF) that promotes equality and diversity, and that many of the proposals made in our response to the consultation have been taken on board.

We especially welcome the focus on creating a consistent approach to the consideration of individual staff circumstances. We also welcome the establishment of the new expert equalities group.

The funding councils' commitment to ensuring that the use of citation data within the REF does not exacerbate or lead to inadvertent bias is also crucial. Far from indicating a nervousness around the use of citation data, this represents a sensible and thorough approach to equality issues.

We look forward to continuing to work with the funding councils to make the REF the fairest national assessment of research quality yet.

You can read ECU's response to the REF consultation by following the link below:

• Research Excellence Framework consultation response
• REF consultation outcomes and initial decisions (HEFCE circular letter)