1. How does practice research fit into HEFCE’s future research policy?
Dr Steven Hill
Head of Research Policy
Goldsmiths, University of London
4 June 2015

2. £1,558m per year HEFCE’s role in supporting research
We fund excellence wherever it is found.
All forms and modes of research are equally important.
Our quality-related research (QR) funding allows institutions to support pure and open-ended research endeavours.
QR funds research right across the disciplines. Some consider it “the single most significant investment into the arts in the UK”.
£1,558m per year

3. Practice research in REF2014
Found in two UOAs in particular:
UOA 34: Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
UOA 35: Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts
“The sector has been a pioneer and supporter of practice-based research through previous RAEs, and the increasing quantity and quality of practice-based research in REF2014 confirms that the sector is a leader in this mode of research activity.”
Clear strengths for practice in live art, music performance, photography and digital design
Significant interdisciplinary and external impact is clear, especially in design, crafts and music

4. Scholarly communication reform
The changing context of research
Funding
Impact
Research
Changing culture
Scholarly communication reform

5. Funding and accountability environment
Constrained funding – real-terms cuts
Global context of research: competition, collaboration, industry
Major national policy focus on science, industry, skills, technology
Public funding decisions depend on evaluation of clear outcomes

6. Impact in the REF
For the first time, REF2014 also considered the impact of UK research
Impact = “an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia”
Case studies show impact of research is global
UOA34+35: impacts across communities, on public engagement, in museums, media, music, dance, performance, arts and culture
UOA34+35 have unusually high impact in China and Brazil

7. Impact – a variety of competing needs
Need to recognise the significant impact of creative and practice research
Need to maximise the return on public investment in research
Need a balance between application and transfer vs. knowledge generation and practice for their own sake
Need to recognise the complex interaction between public engagement, research communication and impact

8. Scholarly communications
Research is a global endeavour: findings should be communicated as widely as possible
Open access is ‘coming of age’ – policies, business models, technologies
An epochal shift due to Internet technologies is changing expectations.
‘Publish or perish’ – a cultural obsession with text?

9. How does practice research fit into this?
Practice-based insight is often communicated through experiences
Knowledge clusters more around people, events and communities (less around information technologies and publication venues)
Place, not publishing venue, nurtures and sustains research narratives
Practice research has a complex relationship with ephemerality

10. What did people submit to REF panels with a practice research element?
A huge variety of interesting outputs!
Compositions, performances, artefacts, designs, media…
…installations, workshops, clothing, video tours…
…‘Spoonness’…
But submission still dominated by text-based outputs
Trend since 2008 is towards more books/journals and fewer non-text outputs.

11. Key questions for policymakers
How do we ensure that the strong position of practice research in the UK is sustained?
How should we recognise and reward the impact of practice research in future?
How can we support the effective communication of practice research findings in a digital age?
How can diversity and interdisciplinarity be recognised and nurtured?
How do we ensure that opportunities are seized?

12. Final thoughts…
Whatever its ultimate utility, research is a fundamentally creative endeavour
But in a constrained funding environment, demonstrating return on investment is increasingly important
Effective research communication is a key challenge for all disciplines…
…but different disciplines may require different assumptions
Building a funding and evaluation system that works effectively for practice research is the responsibility of all of us.

13. Thank you for listening