Community Calls
The Hidden REF Community Calls are open, informal spaces for people across the research community to come together and talk about research culture – what’s working, what’s challenging, and what could be done differently.
Each session brings together a mix of perspectives to share experiences, ideas, and practical approaches to recognising the full range of contributions that make research possible.
Community drop-in session
23rd June at 11.00-12.00 BST
We are hosting bi-monthly a drop-in sessions, intended for people to ask questions about the Competition while submissions are open, but also for anything else you’d like to know about, or discuss with, the Hidden REF!
Next community call
28th July at 11.00-12.00 BST
Register for the next call if you would like to take part. If you want to share something with the community, please submit a community share request.
As always, this is an open community space. Alongside some prompts, there will be room to discuss anything and everything connected to Hidden REF and research culture.
Community share slot
We’re also inviting members of the community to briefly share practical ideas, approaches, tools, examples or experiences that might help others in recognising and valuing hidden research contributions. A small number of 2-minute slots will be available during the call. If you’d like to share something, please complete the short form by 17th July so we can plan the agenda depending on interest.
To make sure you don’t miss out on future calls, join our mailing list
Previous community calls
19th May 2026
Our third community call brought together 28 attendees to explore hidden contributions, not-traditionally submitted outputs, and the practical challenges of recognising the full range of work that makes research possible. We shared examples, ideas, approaches, and resources to help build confidence in recognising and talking about not-traditionally submitted outputs in practice.
blog post coming soon!
24th March 2026
In this call, we brought together 22 attendees to discuss recognising research differently. We introduced our new community share out, which allows anyone to promote their experience and ideas around research assessment and the REF.
To learn about what happened during the session, you can read this blog post.
27th January 2026
The first ever Hidden REF community call!
The call brought together more than 60 people from across the UK research landscape to talk about shaping a healthy research culture: your experiences, our future.
To learn about what happened during the session, you can read this blog post.