Liverpool John Moores University committed a “systemic” breach of rules on how staff were selected for submission to the latest Research Excellence Framework, an investigation has found.
In a summary detailing complaints it had received connected to the REF 2021, Research England stated that it had examined four complaints, of which two were upheld – both of which concerned Liverpool John Moores.
“One aspect of the upheld complaint was deemed to be “systemic”, in that it related to the operation of a central process by the institution, highlighting a misinterpretation of the REF guidance in applying the approved code of practice processes,” explained the report, published on 22 March.
“The other aspects that were upheld related to timeline or human error issues in relation to individual cases,” continued the report, which confirmed that financial penalties would not be levied and that “remedies” would be “forward-looking in nature, focused on reducing the risk of similar issues occurring in the future”.
