Anew report has told the sector something it has always known. Running REF is expensive.
At £471m, or around £67m a year over the seven year REF cycle, its annualised cost is greater than the annual income of the University of Chichester. The septennial fee is more than the total annual funding distributed by OfS for student access and success. If Research England, its counterparts in the nations, and UK universities wished to get into football they could buy a West Bromwich Albion sized club every year instead of running REF.
REF is not only expensive it is getting more expensive. REF 2021 cost around £3m for every HEI that submitted, up from £2m in 2014, and £1m in 2008. Costs per provider have increased by 66 per cent albeit there has been a 68 per cent increase in the number of staff submitted to the exercise.
REF is not getting more expensive because Research England is lining its pockets. REF is expensive because it is massive and getting bigger.
