Shaking up the status quo: the Hidden REF Festival and the 5% Manifesto

Written by Saskia Walcott, ARMA Director of Professional Development and Chief Executive, Walcott Communications Ltd

Imagine a REF that recognises the contribution of everyone involved in the development and realisation of research – the technicians, the Research Managers, the non-academic gatherers of data? You may not have heard of the Hidden REF, but this small group, which started in 2020, has influenced the quite revolutionary change to REF 2028 rules that will now allow all staff involved in research to be recognised as part of the submission, not just academics.

On the 21^st September the Committee hosted the Festival of the Hidden REF in Bristol. It brought together quite a mix of people from across the research ecosystem: those who work in non-traditional research roles, more traditional researchers, Research England, publishers and others.  It was great to see Dr Gemma Derrick, Dr Julie Bayley, Emerald Publishing colleagues, Simon Kerridge, representatives from the British Library, the Turing Institute, Paul Manners from the NCCPE, as well as colleagues from a wide range of HEIs.  And Lizzie Gadd gave a pre-recorded talk as she was in demand at another conference (naturally).

The whole intention of the Hidden REF is to challenge preconceptions about which roles and outputs are important in research. Not an easy, quick, or straight-forward task, but the Festival in September was a great start. There was a mix of talks and breakout sessions that discussed and debated how to define and assess non-traditional outputs, how to engage with communities to encourage more non-traditional outputs and how to define and evaluate the hidden research roles. Discussions were rich, varied, and at times felt like we were groping in the dark. In truth, conclusions were thin on the ground, but that is OK and I am confident that’s exactly what the organisers expected. The status quo is not changed overnight. It is a process. The output from the Festival will be a co-produced white paper that summarises the discussions for them to be continued and advanced by the wider research community. 

An important part of the day was to raise awareness of the 5% Manifesto. It is a campaign devised by the Hidden REF committee to encourage institutions to commit to at least 5% of their REF 2028 submission, being composed of non-traditional outputs (exactly what non-traditional means was subject to much discussion, but very broadly speaking it means not a journal article, or a submission that within any given discipline is not the accepted norm). The REF aficionados among you will be screwing up your faces in confusion and saying ‘But the REF already allows non-traditional outputs?!’ Indeed it does. The problem is not the REF.  It is the conservative and risk averse behaviour of our institutions that prevents this happening. It reinforces a reductive culture where journal publications are the only research output currency of value.  The 5% Manifesto aims to shift this thinking, and in doing so further push open the door of opportunity for cultural change that the REF has presented, by expanding who can be submitted.  ARMA has signed up to the 5% Manifesto but there is opportunity for so many more in the sector to commit to this too. If you’d like to find out more visit the Hidden REF website.

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