Celebrating all research outputs and roles

The Hidden REF Competition

The Hidden REF competition was launched in 2021. It is a community-driven, national event that raises awareness of NTOs and hidden roles, and provides a platform for understanding them. The first two competitions received 230 submissions from around 100 organisations.

You can review details on the submission categories, the submissions and review process and the panel composition and working methods that we used. You can also see the results from 2021 competition and 2024 competition.

If you have any questions, please take a look at our FAQs page.

The documentation is being reviewed for the 2026 competition, you can read more about our plans for 2026 below.