City Research Online and REF
Overview
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a system used in the United Kingdom to assess the quality of research conducted by higher education institutions (HEIs). It is managed by UK research funding bodies and serves several key purposes:
- Evaluation of research quality across disciplines in universities.
- Informing the allocation of public research funding.
- Providing accountability for public investment in research.
- Promoting excellence by benchmarking research performance.
An new open access policy for REF2029 was announced in December 2024.
The open access policy introduced for REF 2021 will continue to apply to journal articles and conference papers published between 1st January 2025 and 31st December 2025. The new REF2029 OA policy requirements will apply from 1st January 2026. Please refer to the table below summarising the requirements.
| REF2029 OA Policy Requirement | Outputs published 1st Jan 2021 to 31st December 2025 | Outputs published 1st Jan 2026 to 31st December 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| In scope outputs | Journal articles and conference papers published in a proceedings with an ISSN | Journal articles and conference papers published in a proceedings with an ISSN |
| Publication/Deposit requirements |
|
|
| Version for repository deposit | Final author accepted manuscript (AAM) | Final author accepted manuscript (AAM) |
| Embargo periods for repository deposits - Panels A & B |
12 months |
Six months |
| Embargo periods for repository deposits - Panels C & D | 24 months | 12 months |
| Licence requirement: gold open access | CC-BY-NC-ND minimum requirement | CC-BY is preferred, otherwise CC-BY-NC, CC-BY-ND or CC-BY-NC-ND |
| Licence requirement: repository deposits | No licence requirement | No licence requirement, but a Creative Commons licence is strongly encouraged |
Clerkenwell and Moorgate campuses' staff should continue to deposit their research publications within three months of acceptance to City Research Online (CRO).
What publications are required to be deposited?
- Journal articles
- Conference papers published in a proceedings with an ISSN
When are they required to be deposited?
- Within three months of the date of acceptance
What version is required to be deposited?
- the author's accepted manuscript (AAM)
- this is the version that has had all peer reviewed corrections made and has been finally accepted by the journal/conference
How to deposit a publication?
- Log in to your City Research Online profile to manage your publications and upload your publications.
Your Digital Repository Librarian
Library workshops
Our free workshops are designed to enhance and support your study and research.