The history of quality related (QR) funding is the history of research assessment.
A Technopolis evidence review undertaken to inform the 2016 Stern review of the Research Excellence Framework sets out a pacey history of how QR came into being. In 1986 the University Grants Committee introduced a system of allocating funding based on research performance. The Research Selectivity Exercise, as it was known, of the 1980s was replaced by the Research Assessment Exercise up until its replacement by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) we all know and love in 2014.
QR funding is a bit of a misnomer as it is several separate funds with slightly different allocation methodologies brought under a single umbrella. There is funding for research degree supervision; funding for supplementing work with charities; funding for research with business; funding for engagement with policymakers; and funding for national research libraries.
Usually, when referring to QR funding most people are referring to what is known as mainstream QR funding. This accounts for two thirds of the £1.97bn of the annual funding allocation. This funding is calculated based on quality (the REF results), volume of activity, and the cost of research.
