Research Excellence Framework 2021

Coventry University is an ambitious institution that has a reputation for delivering innovative research solutions to current and emerging global, societal, and economic challenges.

Our researchers have continued to focus on producing outputs and impacts that change lives and work with partners to tackle some of the biggest challenges affecting our communities.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a periodic expert-led research assessment exercise, taking place approximately every seven years. REF is a critical and strategic component of the university’s research activities as it benchmarks our research efforts against peer institutions at both a subject and institutional level.

The REF is undertaken on behalf of the Government by the funding councils for higher education. Each subject area is evaluated under ‘Units of Assessment’ and the results will be published for each submission as an overall excellence profile, but will also be broken down into the individual elements.

Since the last REF assessment exercise, which took place in 2014, the university has invested considerably into its research portfolio, expanding the number of its research centres, increasing the size of our researcher and doctoral community, and developing brand-new purpose-built buildings and facilities.

Find out more about our REF2021 results.