Professor Andrew Linn, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, has written a guest blog for the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) about the challenges and change which led to Westminster’s improved 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) results.
The blog highlights the University of Westminster’s great REF results - including ranking in the top four for Impact in three of its 13 submissions, fifth overall for Art and Design, and the top post-1992 university for Politics and International Studies – and sets out how the overhaul of Westminster’s research structure led to these results, following a challenging period whereby the University had to make significant savings that led to the departure of many academic colleagues and a collapse in research support.
Explaining the overhaul of the research structure, Professor Linn said: “Rebuilding involved consulting widely across the institution to understand what makes Westminster special and what colleagues believed to be our fundamental principles. Wherever we turned, the message kept coming back that what we do is make a difference to people’s lives. “Further consultation and assessment of our performance demonstrated…that the difference we make lies within four research communities: Arts, Communication & Culture; Diversity & Inclusion; Health Innovation & Wellbeing; and Sustainable Cities & the Urban Environment. We have subsequently committed to focusing our support and investment in these broad fields.”
Professor Linn also notes how the University has additionally strived to create a nurturing environment for researchers, adding: “Our current research strategy as of 2018 is entitled Strategy for Research Support and Development, focusing squarely on enabling our people to thrive, via new researcher development and mentoring programmes, new research leader appointments across the University, and capitalising on our excellent support for postgraduate researchers, evidenced via the Advance HE Postgraduate Experience Survey.
“This activity is managed by a new Research and Knowledge Exchange Office, constructed on lean lines and providing only those functions we need to do the things we are committed to, including a new Researcher Development Officer and Research Impact Officer.”
Read the full blog post on HEPI’s website.
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