One very important point about RAE ratings which seems to have
escaped almost all of the newspapers who have compiled league tables
of RAE performance (with the honourable exception of the Herald) this
morning is the impact of the different funding arrangements of the
National Funding Councils on submissions strategy. HEFCE rewarded 5*-
rated units of assessment with additional cash in 1996 and are
proposing to continue to do so. SHEFC did not recognise the 5/5*
distinction after 1996 and earlier this year in their consultation on
the future of research funding methodology indicated their intention
to continue this approach. Thus there is every incentive for
institutions in England to configure high-quality submissions at the
margins in order to turn 5s into 5*s. In contrast in Scotland it
would be very silly to do so as the result would be an almost certain
loss of SHEFC research funding. If SHEFC had followed a similar
approach to HEFCE I have no doubt that there would have been many
more 5* ratings across the board in Scottish institutions.
Bruce
This e-mail has been prepared using voice recognition software.
I apologise if any transcription errors have not been picked up.
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D B Nelson
Director of Planning
University of Edinburgh
Old College, South Bridge
Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, Scotland
mail: [log in to unmask] voice: +131-650 2131 fax: +131-650 9127
http://www.planning.ed.ac.uk/
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