After months of debate on the incorporation of research culture into the Research Excellence Framework (REF), last week saw the announcement of key details the sector has been waiting for.
Research England and its counterparts have launched a project to develop indicators for the new “People, Culture and Environment” (PCE) element – led by Technopolis and CRAC-Vitae – alongside a pilot exercise to test out PCE with a sample of institutions.
These plans will revive questions you have likely heard already: how do you define “research culture”? It’s such an abstract concept, so how can you measure it objectively? Is culture even what we should be evaluating? And if it is, is REF the place for it?
Replace the word “culture” in these questions with “impact” and you will have transported yourself back to 2009.
