The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the current assessment of research quality in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
The assessment takes place approximately every 7 years and is administered by the four UK higher education Funding Councils: Research England, the Scottish Funding Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Northern Ireland government's Department for Employment and Learning. The results of REF 2029 will be used by these funding councils to determine the value of the block grant awarded to HEIs for the subsequent funding period.
Research outputs are included in the sub-profile ‘Contribution to Knowledge and Understanding’ and must meet specific criteria outlined for REF 2029 to be submitted. Included in this set of criteria is an open access policy which applies to all peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings published with an ISSN between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2028. Long-form outputs and other output types (e.g. preprints, reports, creative works that are not peer-reviewed, etc.) do not have an open access requirement for REF 2029.
Further details of the REF 2029 Open Access Policy are outlined below:
For outputs first published between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2025, the REF 2021 Open Access Policy applies. In brief, this means that:
- All in-scope outputs must be deposited in a repository no later than 3 months from acceptance - this can be the author accepted manuscript (AAM) or the published version of record (VoR) if allowed.
- Embargo periods (where applicable) should not exceed 12 months for main panels A and B or 24 months for main panels C and D.
For all outputs first published from 1 January 2026 through 31 December 2028, the REF 2029 Open Access Policy can be briefly summarised as:
- All in-scope outputs must be deposited in a repository no later than 3 months from first publication - this can be the author accepted manuscript (AAM) or the published version of record (VoR) if allowed.
- Outputs should be shared as openly as possible, though there is not a minimum licence requirement in place.
- Embargo periods (where applicable) should not exceed 6 months for main panels A and B or 12 months for main panels C and D.
There are a number of exceptions allowed by the REF 2021 and 2029 Open Access policies. These exceptions relate to Deposit, Access, Technical Requirements and Other Circumstances not already covered in specific exceptions. At Strathclyde, exceptions will be applied by repository staff and reviewed by the REF support team.
All University of Strathclyde authors will meet the REF 2029 Open Access requirements by complying with the University of Strathclyde Open Access Policy. Outputs that meet the UKRI Open Access Policy will also meet the requirements of the REF Open Access policies. All gold and diamond open access publications automatically meet the REF 2021 and 2029 Open Access Policies.
Questions relating to the REF Open Access requirements should be directed to openaccess@strath.ac.uk . General questions relating to REF preparation at the University of Strathclyde should be directed to refteam@strath.ac.uk .