Supporting & promoting Equality
& Diversity through REF
Dianne Berry, Chair REF E&D Advisory Panel
Ellen Pugh, Senior Policy Officer ECU
Outline
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Lessons learned from RAE 2008
Overall approach in REF
Codes of Practice
Equality Impact Assessments
Individual staff circumstances
Consultation and discussion
Lessons learned from RAE
• Outcomes of RAE evaluation suggested need:
– More consistency across panels in criteria and
processes relating to individual staff circumstances
– Better (REF specific) training
– Proactive proforma-based procedure for disclosing
individual staff circumstances
– Better communication of Codes of Practice
– More timely appeals processes
– To use next exercise to promote E&D more
Overall approach in REF
• Equalities embedded
– Equality and Diversity Advisory Group / Panel (EDAP)
– Promotion of equality and diversity through environment
template
• HEIs required to develop, document and apply Code of
Practice on staff selection to:
– Ensure work of ALL excellent researchers, regardless of
individual staff circumstances considered for submission
– Help them comply with equality legislation
– Avoid inadvertent discrimination
• Review of effectiveness of measures through postexercise monitoring of staff selection at sector level
Individual staff circumstances
covered in REF
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Age
Disability (including carers of disabled people)
Gender reassignment
Marriage & civil partnership
Pregnancy & maternity
Race
Religion or belief
Sex (including breastfeeding and childcare)
Sexual orientation
Part-time and fixed-term employment status
Codes of practice
• Must be signed off by Head of HEI and
submitted to REF team by July 2012
• Will be reviewed by EDAP in advance of
submission deadline
• Will be published with submissions at end of
process
Underlying principles
• Code should demonstrate fairness to staff by
addressing following principles:
– Transparency
– Consistency
– Accountability
– Inclusivity
What needs to be included
• Information on staff and committees
responsible for staff selection, including terms
of reference, role definitions, and training
undertaken
• Information on criteria (and any thresholds) to
be used, how communicated, feedback to
staff, appeals process, and timescales
• ECU publishing guidance on their website
Equality Impact Assessments
• Required to conduct EIA on policy & procedures for
selecting staff to determine whether selection policy
may have differential impact on particular groups
• Should inform Code of Practice and be kept under
review as submissions prepared
• Should be informed by analysis of range of data,
including (eligible and submitted) staff data in respect
of protected characteristics for which data available
• Should reviewed in light of mock exercises, appeals,
and final submission
• Further information on ECU website
Individual staff circumstances
• Clearly defined circumstances
– ECRs, Part-time working, maternity, paternity or
adoptive leave, secondments or career breaks
• More complex circumstances
– Disability, ill-health or injury, mental health
conditions, constraints relating to pregnancy or
maternity in addition to clearly defined period of
leave, caring responsibilities, gender
reassignment, other circumstances related to
protected characteristics
Staff disclosure
• REF team advise proactive approach
• Recommend using central group to assess
cases and advise on decisions
• HEIs will need to consider confidentiality in
procedures for staff disclosure
• ECU developing suggested proforma for staff
disclosure
Consideration of individual staff
circumstances
• Clearly defined circumstances
– Panel secretariat will examine cases and advise subpanel on whether submitted no. of outputs is
appropriate
– Information seen by Sub-panel, and REF team
• More complex circumstances
– Considered by EDAP who will advise main panel chairs
on whether submitted no. of outputs is appropriate
– Information seen by EDAP, main panel chairs & REF
team
Submission of information
• Clearly defined circumstances
– Use REF 1b to describe circumstances, time periods,
etc (200 words)
• More complex circumstances
– Use REF 1b (300 words) to describe circumstances,
timing, effect on contracted hours and on ability to
work productively, and rationale for no. of outputs
– Example cases on ECU website to provide guidance on
how to structure information and EDAP’s likely
response
Reduced outputs
• Proposed tariffs allow for reduction in outputs
in relation to:
– ECRS - determined by date become independent
researcher during the census period
– Other clearly defined circumstances –reduction in
contracted hours / FTE worked over census
period
– Complex circumstances – as above but allowing
for panel judgement on full circumstances
including overall effects on research productivity
Consultation questions
• Overall processes for determining number of
outputs that may be reduced without penalty
• Whether tariffs for number of outputs set at
appropriate levels
• Proposed options for taking account of
pregnancy and maternity
• Whether consistent approach across panels is
appropriate
Pregnancy & maternity consultation
1. Handled in same way as other clearly defined
circumstances (i.e. Need at least 14 months
to qualify for reduction in outputs, unless
other (complex) circumstances apply); or
2. Each period of leave merits reduction of one
output