The Research Excellence Framework results 2021
Research England released its UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) results - and the University of York Management School has far exceeded its target score.
On May 12 this year, Research England released its much-anticipated UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) results 2021 - and the University of York Management School (UYMS) has far exceeded its target score, leaving it rated among the most successful schools for Business and Management Studies research in the country.
More submissions for REF2021 were received than ever before and the rigorous peer-review process Research England embarked upon to assess the entries took more than a year to complete. But with the long wait over, everyone at UYMS is thrilled with the results, which also place the school in 26th position in the Times Higher Education rankings of REF, up from 36th last time around.
With a total of 108 submissions in Business and Management Studies, this THE ranking places UYMS in the UK’s top quartile in its sector, ahead of comparable universities like Newcastle, Nottingham, Loughborough, Sussex and Bristol.
REF is an important measure of research success, with the research activities of universities and their departments being assessed in three categories: outputs, impact and environment. Each is scored using a Grade Point Assessment (GPA) out of four - and in each category this year UYMS matched or bettered its target score and achieved a total GPA of a superb 3.27.
Analysis of institutional performance by Times Higher Education, also released today, puts the grade point average in the UK at 3.16, highlighting how good the UYMS score is. It’s also a significant jump from the last REF in 2014, when the school scored a creditable 2.87. Following that score and, as part of the university’s 2019 strategy review, a target score of 3.10 was set, making the REF2022 result an even more impressive achievement.
In terms of the individual categories, with a score of 3.50 (against a target of 3.10) UYMS finished in an impressive 21st position in the UK for Environment.
Meanwhile, UYMS outperformed the sector for the increase in 4* performances it achieved since 2014, with a rise of 16 percentage points against an average of nine percentage points. A 4* rating means the research output has been deemed “world-leading” by the REF assessment panels.
It also grew by almost double the sectoral average rate in terms of faculty submissions (163 per cent against 84 per cent), with 59.7 FTE in 2022, up from 22.7 FTE in 2014, meaning both impact and environment scores have achieved way beyond expectations.
Finally, it’s not just UYMS celebrating research success in 2022. In the Times Higher Education's ranking the University of York itself entered the top 10 research universities in the country, achieving a wonderful 10th spot, up four places from its 2014 position of 14th.