The RQF at UWA April 2007

UWA Announced by Minister Bishop December 2006 New system to assess research quality Distribute research block grant funding Based on the UK RAE process

UWA No promise of new money Full details and rules unknown Key Document The Recommended RQF (October 2006)

UWA Eligible Staff: Teaching and Research and Research only Employed 40% or more Level B and above Competitive grant funded research fellows (ARC Postdocs – Level A – may be assessed)

UWA Possibly included (not yet decided): Adjuncts, Honorary, plus less than 0.4 appointments May be assessed (included on complete list of publications? – context statements?) May be assessed for quality BUT not for funding

UWA Eligible staff: Must have 4 research outputs to assess BUT may be less for Early Career Researchers (between 2 and 4)

UWA Key Dates Assessment Period 2001 to 2006 Staff Census Date 31 March 2007 (plus service period rules) Submission date30 April 2008

UWA Submissions Work will be submitted, assessed and reported via RFCD codes (research fields, courses and disciplines) Individuals will not be assessed Results will not be published for individuals Scores published for Universities

UWA Submissions Not by individuals but by research groups University determined groups Based on RFCD codes and directed to (13) assessment panels Submit Evidence Portfolios

UWA Evidence Portfolios 4 best research outputs per person Full list of publications Context statements (evidence of research quality) 10 page impact statement per group Plus institution list of submitted vs eligible staff

UWA Quality Assessment Expert review – not quite peer review Holistic view of a group’s work May have some expert peer advice

UWA 1. Biological sciences RFCD Biochemistry and cell biology, Genetics, Microbiology, Botany, Zoology, Physiology, Ecology & evolution, Biotechnology, Other biological sciences

UWA 6. Clinical sciences and clinical physiology RFCD , (less ), Medicine – general, Immunology, Medical biochemistry & clinical chemistry, Medical microbiology, Pharmacology & pharmaceutical sciences, Medical physiology, Dentistry, Optometry, Clinical sciences (exc. Psychiatry), Mental health

TABLE 1: THE RATING SCALE FOR RESEARCH QUALITY Rating Descriptor 5 Research that is world leading in its field or makes an equally exceptional contribution in an area of particular significance to Australia. 4 Research that meets world standards of excellence in its field or makes an equally excellent contribution in an area of particular significance to Australia. 3 Research that is recognised internationally as excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour but which nonetheless falls short of the highest standards of excellence. 2 Research that is recognised as methodologically sound in its field and of high originality, significance and rigour. 1 Research that is deemed to fall below the standard of recognised quality work.

Impact Assessment “Research impact is defined as the social, economic, environmental and/or cultural benefits of research” 10 page submission (verifiable evidence) 4 case studies End users to contact for references Must have a quality rating of 2 to be assessed

UWA TABLE 2: THE RATING SCALE FOR RESEARCH IMPACT Rating Description A Adoption of the research has produced an outstanding social, economic, environmental and/or cultural benefit for the wider community, regionally within Australia, nationally or internationally. B Adoption of the research has produced a significant social, economic environmental and/or cultural benefit for the wider community, regionally within Australia, nationally or internationally. C Research has been adopted to produce new policies, products, attitudes, behaviours and/or outlooks in the end user community. D Research has engaged with the end user community to address a social, economic, environmental and/or cultural issue regionally within Australia, nationally or internationally. E Research has had limited or no identifiable social, economic, environmental and/or cultural outcome, regionally within Australia, nationally or internationally.

UWA The UWA Approach Internal Research Quality Assessment process Helped us learn about the issues for managing and interpreting ratings for research quality

UWA The UWA Approach Socrates as an RQF tool Log-on staff ID plus password Collects data from many university systems and presents it in a set of different views on research performance

UWA The UWA approach Socrates: Grants Publications Note CV function Socratic Index

UWA Socrates Citation data (incomplete): journal impact factor, number of citations Expected versus actual citations Can help with selecting 4 best publications

UWA Top down vs bottom up Minimise unproductive work Identify research groups (university structure of disciplines) Mostly school based but some centres Identify whose work falls in to which group Who is assessed and who is not

UWA Identify a key person per group Draft up group statements Context and impact statements Internal review Write, revise, review and rewrite

UWA Timeline February - April 2007: talk to schools Identify groups (and rfcd codes) Identify key person

UWA April – May 2007 Draft context and impact statements May - November 2007 Review and redraft impact statements November- December 2007 Finalise selection of ‘research outputs’ to submit

UWA Basic Assumptions More assessed rather than less UWA budget model unchanged UWA Mission and strategic goal more important than transient DEST funding formulas

Assessment Panels with RFCD codes

UWA 1. Biological sciences RFCD Biochemistry and cell biology, Genetics, Microbiology, Botany, Zoology, Physiology, Ecology & evolution, Biotechnology, Other biological sciences

UWA 2. Physical, chemical and earth sciences RFCD Astronomical sciences, Theoretical & condensed matter physics, Atomic & molecular physics; Nuclear & particle physics; Plasma physics, Optical physics, Classical physics, Other physical sciences, Physical chemistry, Inorganic chemistry, Organic chemistry, Analytical chemistry, Macromolecular chemistry, Theoretical & computational chemistry, Other chemical sciences, Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Oceanography, Hydrology, Atmospheric sciences, Other earth sciences

UWA 3. Engineering and technology RFCD Aerospace engineering, Manufacturing engineering, Automotive engineering, Mechanical & industrial engineering, Chemical engineering, Resources engineering, Civil engineering, Electrical & electronic engineering, Geomantic engineering, Environmental engineering, Maritime engineering, Metallurgy, Materials engineering, Biomedical engineering, Computer hardware, Communications technologies, Interdisciplinary engineering, Other engineering &technology

UWA 4. Mathematical and information sciences and technology RFCD , Mathematics, Statistics, Other mathematical sciences, Information systems, Artificial intelligence & signal & image processing, Computer software, Computation theory & mathematics, Data format, Other information, computing & communication sciences

UWA 5. Agricultural, veterinary, food and environmental sciences RFCD 2901, Industrial biotechnology & food sciences, Soil & water sciences, Crop & pasture production, Horticulture, Animal production, Veterinary sciences, Forestry sciences, Fisheries sciences, Environmental sciences, Land, parks & agricultural management, Other agricultural, veterinary & environmental sciences

UWA 7. Public health and health services RFCD (less ) Nursing, Public health & health services (exc. Mental health), Complementary/ alternative medicine, Human movement & sports science, Other medical & health sciences

UWA 8. Psychology, psychiatry, neurological, behavioural and cognitive sciences RFCD 3207, ,380, 3802, Neurosciences, Psychology, Psychiatry, Cognitive science, Other behavioural & cognitive sciences & Linguistics.

UWA 9. Social sciences and politics RFCD (less 3702) Political science, Policy & administration, Other policy & political science, Sociology, Anthropology, Human geography, Demography

UWA 10. Economics, commerce and management RFCD Economic theory, Applied economics, Economic history & history of economic thought, Econometrics, Other economics, Accounting, auditing & accountability, Business and management, Banking, finance and investment, Transportation, Tourism, Services, Other commerce, management, tourism and services.

UWA 11. Law, Education and Professional Practices RFCD , , 3702 Education studies, Curriculum studies, Professional development of teachers, Other education, Journalism, communication and media, Librarianship, Curatorial studies, Social work, Other journalism, librarianship & curatorial studies, Law, Professional development of practitioners, Justice & legal studies, Law enforcement, Other law, justice, law enforcement

UWA 12. Humanities RFCD , , History & philosophy of science & medicine, Other studies in human society, Art History and appreciation, Language studies, Literature studies, Cultural studies, Other language & culture, Historical studies, Archaeology & prehistory, Other history & archaeology, Philosophy, Religion & religious traditions, Other philosophy & religion

UWA 13. Creative arts, design and built environment RFCD , (less ) Architecture and urban environment, building, Other architecture, urban environment and building, Performing arts, Visual arts & crafts, Cinema, electronic arts & multimedia, Design studies, Other arts (exc. Art history & appreciation)