Hidden REF Categories

The problem with recognising all research is that no one knows which research outputs need to be collected to recognise everyone’s contribution.

For the 2021 competition, we started with the non-publication-based categories from the 2021 REF (categories L to V) and then asked the research community to nominate new categories, of which we added category 1-7 below.

For the 2024 competition we took suggestions from discussions at the Festival of Hidden REF and again crowdsourced ideas for new categories from the community, as well as changes to existing categories, adding 4 brand new categories! (8-11)

Further details about the category can be found by clicking on its title in the table below (the entire list is also available as are example submissions).

Nominate a great colleague

This category allowed for nomination of people whose work has been instrumental in the conduct of your research. You may wish to talk to the person you are nominating and allow them to review your nomination to ensure that you have described their work accurately.

Nominate your work

These categories allow the nomination of any work that contributes towards research success, but which is not best represented by traditional research outputs.