NTO Workshops
The Hidden REF can visit your organisation and conduct an NTO workshop, which allows attendees to discuss the importance of NTOs, practice assessing them against REF criteria and work on overcoming challenges and concerns about NTO assessment. You can see upcoming workshops and past workshops below.
Success in research is built on a diverse range of techniques, technologies and people. The purpose of our Not-traditionally-submitted output (NTO) workshops is to understand how this diversity should be represented in the range of different outputs submitted to the REF. NTO workshops provide a forum to discuss the benefits of a more diverse approach to the REF, what individuals can do to help enact this change, the issues that must be overcome and the potential for changing research culture at higher education institutions (HEIs).
Request an NTO workshop
If you would like us to run an NTO workshop at your organisation, please get in touch.
Why change is needed
The REF supports 21 categories of research outputs that range from data to musical compositions, but within HEIs publications are viewed as the predominant, and potentially the only, metric of research success. Over the last two REF exercises, a little over 97% of all submitted outputs were either journal publications or books. This is a problem for the sector because if we do not recognise everything and everyone vital to research, we limit our ability to conduct research.
The REF is a key driver for culture change within HEIs. It provides the community with an opportunity to change the way we think about who and what is important to research. The Hidden REF is working with Research England and the REF team to ensure that REF 2029 represents all of the work and people that are vital to research. Once identified, these changes can be supported in the long term by embedding them in local HEI policy. Ultimately, this will make research more equitable and more effective.
Typical NTO workshop agenda
- 0930 Arrive and refreshments
- 1000 An introduction from the university
- 1010 Talk on making research more equitable and more effective
- 1020 Exercise 1: which NTOs are vital to your research?
- 1030 Introduction to NTO assessment
- 1050 Break
- 1110 Exercise 2: NTO assessment practical
- 1210 Break and refreshments
- 1230 Feedback from assessment
- 1300 Close and wrap up
Upcoming workshops
Location | Date |
| Kings College London | 7 Sept 2026 |
| University of Durham | 5 Nov 2026 |
| University of Swansea | 8 October 2026 |
| University of Aberystwyth | 9 October 2026 |
| University of Aberdeen | 2 Oct 2026 |
| Loughborough Uni | 7 Oct 2026 |
| University of Bath | 26 Nov 2026 |
| University of Lancashire | 12 Nov 2026 |
Past workshops
Location | Date |
| University of Southampton | 10 September 2024 |
| Kings College London | 19 June 2025 |
| University of Liverpool (blog post) | 29 June 2025 |
| University of Exeter | 18 Nov 2025 |
| University of London | 18 March 2026 |
| Arts University Plymouth | 25 March 2026 |
| University of York | 23 April 2026 |
| Queen Mary University London | 14 May 2026 |
| The Place London | 22 May 2026 |
| Liverpool John Moores Uni | 10 July 2026 |