Supporters

The hidden REF couldn’t operate without the help of its Supporters! Each of these organisations contributes time to, and helps raise awareness of, the competition. If you represent an organisation that would like to support the hidden REF, please get in touch.

The Hidden REF is a largely volunteer-run activity. We are very grateful to the Software Sustainability Institute which supports some staff activities and provided the initial funding to start the competition.


As the national institute for data science and artificial intelligence, The Alan Turing Institute partners with organisations across government, industry, academia and the third sector to undertake world-class research that benefits society.

The Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) UK is the professional association for research management in the UK. We represent research leaders, managers and administrators, offering professional development and opportunities to build networks, knowledge and skills.

BioImagingUK is an organic organisation of UK scientists that develop, use, or administer imaging solutions for life sciences research.

The Digital Curation Centre is an internationally-recognised centre of expertise in digital curation with a focus on building capability and skills for research data management. 

Emerald Publishing wants to influence positive change, whether it’s the future of research assessment, open access or finding new ways to make research more accessible and discoverable.

F1000 provides innovative open access publishing platforms offering rapid publication and open peer review, whilst supporting data deposition and sharing.

The Imaging Scientist is all about understanding, recognising and celebrating imaging scientists – the incredible people behind the science of bioimaging.

The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) has an international reputation for inspiring and supporting universities to engage with the public. 

The National Technician Development Centre provides access to information, expertise and tools that enable HE institutions to create a sustainable future for their technical staff and services.


The PRISM network represents Professional Research Investment and Strategy Managers (PRISMs) are managers of large research, training, and network grants, research centres or institutes in Higher Education Institutions.

Research Libraries UK (RLUK) optimises the contribution that research libraries and collections make to the economic, technological and cultural success of the UK and Ireland.

The Royal Society of Chemistry is the professional body for chemists in the UK, and an internationally renowned publisher of high quality chemical science knowledge, with the purpose to advance excellence in the chemical sciences – to improve the lives of people around the world now and in the future.


SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, innovative content and library products for academic, educational, and professional markets.

The Software Sustainability Institute cultivates better, more sustainable, research software to enable world-class research. We help people build better software, and identify key issues and best practice in scientific software.

The Society of Research Software Engineering was founded on the belief that a world which relies on software must recognise the people who develop it. 


The Technician Commitment aims to ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines. 

The Turing Way is an open-source community driven guide to reproducible, ethical and collaborative data science.

The UK Reproducibility Network is aims to ensure the UK retains its place as a centre for world-leading research, by investigating the factors that contribute to robust research, providing training and disseminating best practice.


The UK Trials Managers’ Network (UKTMN) is a vibrant hub of Clinical Trial Managers. The community works together, sharing knowledge and experience to enable the efficient delivery of clinical trials and well-designed studies.

Vitae is a non-profit programme that supports the professional development of researchers through research, policymaking, training and resources, events, and membership.