Two current and one former member of the Society’s governing Council have been chosen for the History subject panel, to undertake a pilot study of proposals for the ‘People, Culture and Environment’ (PCE) element of the next Research Excellence Framework (REF 2029).
Panel members include Professor Barbara Bombi (University of Kent) who is the Society’s Secretary for Research and an Officer of the Council, and Professor Olwen Purdue (Queen’s University, Belfast) who is a member of the Council.
Co-chair for the History PCE panel is Professor Jonathan Morris (University of Hertfordshire) who was until late 2022 the Secretary’s Vice-President for Research Policy. Full membership of the History PCE panel is available here.
‘People, Culture and Environment’ develops the previous ‘Environment’ element of assessment, with a greater focus on research culture and more weighting (25%) in the final results.
The pilot seeks to identify those indicators of ‘People, Culture and Environment’ that should, on grounds of practicality and feasibility, be carried forward for this element of the REF assessment.
History is one of eight ‘Units of Assessment’ selected to take part in the PCE pilot, from a total of 34 subject areas that will submit to REF2029 across Medicine and the Life Sciences; Physical Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics; Social Sciences; and Arts and Humanities.
Further details of the terms of reference for the History and other subject panel are available here; REF has also provided an overview of the aims and purpose of the pilot.
In the pilot, 40 universities will produce submissions for assessment in a selection of REF Units of Assessment, including History. These submissions will in turn be assessed by the eight UoA-level pilot panels.
Assessment by the History PCE panel is expected to take place between May and August 2025, with panel reports and a statement on PCE Indicators for REF2029 currently scheduled for September 2025. REF2029’s timetable is also available.
For more on the Royal Historical Society’s resources relating to REF2029, please see here.