A festival for everyone involved in research

The Festival of Hidden REF

The Festival of Hidden REF takes place on 7 and 8 October 2025 at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum. The Festival brings together people who work with non-traditional outputs and in Hidden Roles with policymakers, publishers and others involved in research assessment. The Festival’s focus is on sharing knowledge about diverse outputs and Hidden Roles, collecting new ideas and the latest developments from attendees and, most importantly, celebrating everyone who contributes to research.

Registration is now open!

Day 1 of the Hidden REF Festival will see participants directly shape the Hidden REF ‘Non-Traditional Output (NTO)’ Workshops ahead of their official launch in late-2025. Community co-creation is vital to the success of these workshops. To ensure fit with current community need, the sessions on this day will focus on piloting and gathering feedback on methods for evaluating diverse research outputs, as well as providing opportunities for attendees to act as ambassadors and promote NTO Workshops within their own institutions.

Day 2 of the Hidden REF Festival will focus on empowering change, building the community, and centering hidden roles in research. Practitioners, experts, and policy makers will share their perspectives on and mechanisms for rewarding and recognising diverse research outputs and careers. And alongside lightning talks, roundtables, and plenary talks, attendees will have the opportunity to help define what success should look like for the Hidden REF campaign in and beyond this REF cycle.  

You can find out more about our first festival over at the Hidden REF Festival 2023 page.

Indicative Schedule

Day 1: 7th October

Time  
1000-1030 Arrival & Registration
1030-1100 Welcome and Introduction to Day 1
1100-1230 Assessing Diverse Outputs Workshop, Session 1
1230-1330 Networking Lunch
1330-1530 Assessing Diverse Outputs Workshop, Session 2
1530-1600 Coffee Break & Group Photo
1600-1700 Outcomes, Pitches & Wrap Up
1900 Dinner (optional)

Day 2: 8th October

Time  
1000-1015 Arrival & Registration
1015-1030 Welcome and Introduction to Day 2
1030-1115 Lightning Talks
1115-1230 Defining Success Workshop
1230-1330 Networking Lunch
1330-1445 Talks from Hidden REF Competition Winners
1445-1515 Coffee Break & Group Photo
1515-1600 Keynote
1600-1700 Roundtable
1700-1715 Wrap up, Thank Yous & Future Plans