REF2021 results
REF2021 confirms growth in research excellence and impact at Newcastle
Published on: 12 May 2022
The national assessment of research performance has reported world-leading research with outstanding impact for society and the economy across all disciplines at Newcastle University.
Last carried out in 2014, REF2021 assessed the University’s research in 27 ‘Units of Assessment’ that span academic disciplines from Clinical Medicine to Art and Design. The submission included 1,452 independent researchers who collectively contributed 3,167 research outputs as well as more than 113 ‘impact case studies’ that describe the benefits of our research to society and the economy.
The University’s submission was assessed alongside all other UK universities by expert panels which include academics, international members, and the end-users of research such as people from industry and charities.
The results show that the University’s research capacity - or ‘power’ in REF terms - has grown by 65% since 2014.
42% of our research was scored as world-leading up from 31% in 2014. Grade Point Average (GPA), the assessment of quality, has increased from 3.09 to 3.29 (out of a maximum of 4* world-leading).
These reflect the contributions from a growing team of researchers which has increased by 54% this time.
The results consolidate our position as one of the UK’s world-leading broad-based research-intensive universities.
The REF results reinforce the University’s excellent recent performance in global university rankings which improved since 2016 in Leiden (114th to 66th), QS (168th to 134th) and THE (190th to 146th).
And last month, Newcastle was ranked first in the UK and 8th in the world in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022. The rankings assess a university’s work towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and Newcastle’s world-leading research in this area was key to achieving this.
"collective excellence"
Vice-Chancellor and President of Newcastle University, Professor Chris Day said: “I commend everyone across the University who has worked so hard to deliver the outstanding research that is reflected in today’s results.
“The results of REF2021 confirm that the research, researchers and teams at Newcastle University are recognised as Visibly Leading in their disciplines and are changing the world for the better.
“The results also recognise the progress we have made on our Vision and Strategy. By working together and integrating research for discovery and impact with education for life, engagement and place, and global strategies, we are growing in research capacity and power.”
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research Strategy and Resources, Professor Brian Walker said: “We’re celebrating the contribution that everyone has made to our collective excellence, creativity and impact across the full range of disciplines.
“I welcome the move in REF2021 away from an out-of-date focus on individual academics in favour of recognising that research is a team sport and that the best research comes from the collective efforts of many different people.
“The results reflect our collective excellence and the increasing diversity and capacity of our research teams. They also show how working together with our partners and stakeholders has released the economic and societal impact from our research, which is recognised as a major strength at Newcastle.”
About REF2021
REF2021 is the latest in a series of national research assessment exercises in recent decades. It encompasses research undertaken from 2014 until December 2020, although the submission was delayed by the pandemic. The Research Excellence Framework is undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies: Research England, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), and the Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland (DfE). Its main purpose is to provide the evidence base for continued investment of public funds in a world-class, dynamic and responsive research base across UK higher education institutions.
Research power is calculated as the multiple of the grade point average (GPA) by the number of researchers returned.
Working together for impact for society and the economy
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