Global expert on foot-and-mouth disease and Director of The Pirbright Institute, Dr Bryan Charleston, has been selected to sit on the Research Excellence Framework 2021 sub panel to oversee Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science.
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is used to assess the research carried out across UK higher education institutions, with the aim of providing accountability for public investment in research, inform allocation of funding and generate benchmarking information. Expert panels will review 34 areas of research in the next REF which will commence in 2021.
Dr Charleston will join other experts to create the sub panel for Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science. The panellists will meet to assess submissions on three distinct elements: the quality of outputs (e.g. publications, performances, and exhibitions), their impact beyond academia, and the environment that supports research.
Dr Charleston said: “The REF is undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies: the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), and the Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland (DfE). Their shared aim is to secure the continuation of a world-class, dynamic and responsive research base across the full academic spectrum within UK higher education. It is a privilege to be appointed to oversee an area of research that is essential to maintain food security globally and which I have championed throughout my career.”
For more information about the framework, visit the REF 2021 website.