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Parallel sessions

Assessing research

The parallel sessions detailed below have been identified as falling under the theme "Assessing research". Most sessions have this as their primary theme, but for some it is a secondary theme. Please review the description of each session for further information about what it will cover.

For other sessions, see also:

303: Good Practice in Internal Review

Jennifer Shambrook, Co-Director, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina
Steff Hazlehurst, Head of Research and Consultancy Services, Institute of Education, University of London

  • Target Audience: Central, faculty and departmental research administrators supporting pre-award activity; those involved in researcher development and capacity building
  • UK/International: Not geographically specific
  • Experience Level: Any

Winning research funding is becoming an increasing challenge for institutions worldwide with competition for limited funds growing all the time. However long-established and experienced they are in winning funding, research organisations need to find ways to increase their prospects of success in this environment. One approach which is widely accepted to be effective is the development of internal peer review of funding proposals before they are submitted to funders. This session examines the key features and functions of successful institutional peer review in different research organisations before going on to focus in detail on one particular model, the peer review group, an approach where each member of the group reads proposals individually before comparing notes and compiling a consensus feedback report to the proposer. The session will consider the conditions necessary to the success of such groups, including the training which may be required.

307: The UK Research Excellence Framework

Paul Hubbard, Head of Research Policy, Higher Education Funding Council for England

  • Target Audience: UK research administrators who may be involved in supporting REF preparations
  • UK/International: UK delegates
  • Experience Level: Any

In November 2007 the Higher Education Funding Council for England published a consultation paper concerning proposals for the future assessment and funding of research. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) will consist of an over-arching framework for the funding and assessment of research that takes account of key differences between the different disciplines. Research income, research student data and a new bibliometric indicator of research quality will drive assessment and funding for the science-based disciplines. For the arts, humanities and social sciences (where quantitative approaches are less developed) the REF will use a light-touch form of peer review. The new framework will be phased in; it will inform funding gradually for the science-based disciplines from 2010. The light-touch peer review exercise for the other disciplines will take place in 2013. The new framework will drive funding for all disciplines fully from 2014. An analysis of the responses to the consultation exercise will be published in spring 2008. This session will provide an update on recent developments and next steps to be taken, and allow participants to debate key issues.

508: The Researcher as a Research Manager - a hybrid professional?

Richard Bond, Head of R&D, Research, Business & Innovation, University of the West of England
Dr Jo Cresswell, Research Manager, Academic Radiation Oncology, University of Manchester

  • Target Audience: All are welcome but may be of particular interest to research managers and administrators with practical research experience
  • UK/International: Not geographically specific
  • Experience Level: Any

Increasing numbers of staff with research experience are being recruited as research managers and administrators (in UK universities at least). This session will examine the role that experienced researchers can and do play in supporting research and enhancing research quality, with examples from two UK institutions. It will explore whether this trend constitutes the emergence of a new hybrid professional, or someone caught between two stools - neither a professional administrator nor an academic. What are the prospects for the development of these roles, what career paths are open to those in them, and how can we best harness their abilities?

605: Evaluating and Assessing Research Outputs and Outcomes

Professor Ben Martin, Professor of Science and Technology Policy Studies, SPRU, University of Sussex
Briony Rayfield, Evaluation Advisor, The Wellcome Trust
Anne O'Neill, Research and Development Manager, Research and Development Office, The Children's Hospital at Westmead

This session considers how best to evaluate the economic, social and health benefits of research. As well as considering different methodologies that can be used to measure research outcomes including case studies and KPIs, participants will also learn how a funding body evaluates the research which it funds.

See also: