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Data privacy notice for REF 2029 external collaborators

Information about data privacy for external collaborators in our submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029.

About the REF

The Research Excellence Framework is the UK's system to assess the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. Its purpose is to:

  • inform the allocation of about £2 billion per year of public funding for research by the four UK higher education funding bodies
  • provide accountability for public investment in research, informing strategic decisions about national research priorities
  • provide insights into the health of research in UK higher education institutions

It first took place in 2014 and 2021. The next exercise is planned for 2029 and will include an assessment of the broader impact of universities’ research beyond academia: on the economy, society, culture, public policy and services, health, the environment and quality of life – within the UK and internationally.

Impact is assessed through the submission of case studies, which describe the changes or benefits brought about by research undertaken by researchers at the institution. Impressive impacts were found across all disciplines in REF 2021, with 50 per cent of submissions judged to be outstanding.

See a database of case studies submitted in 2021

Data collection

The REF is managed by Research England on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies. Research England is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and, under this arrangement, UKRI has the role of ‘data controller’ for personal data submitted by us to the REF.

You may have provided information relating to published outputs, for one or more impact case studies or to support people, culture and environment statements as part of Cardiff University’s submission to the REF 2029. In 2028 we will submit information to UKRI for the REF 2029. The information will not be in coded form and your name - and details such as your job title and organisational affiliation - may be provided in these narrative statements.  We refer to this information about you as ‘your data’ and will process this data under the public task basis set out in Data Protection legislation. Wherever possible, Cardiff University will endeavour to ensure that personal or identifying information, other than names and job titles, are not included in a statement.

Further information about the data being collected for the REF 2029 exercise will be published on the REF website and we will link to it from this page when available.

Sharing information about you

UKRI may pass your data, or parts of it, to any of the following organisations that need it to inform the selective distribution of public funds for research and to carry out their statutory functions connected with funding higher education:

  • Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland (DfE)
  • The Commission for Tertiary Education and Research, Wales (Medr)
  • Scottish Funding Council (SFC)

UKRI and the organisations listed above will use the information to analyse and monitor the REF 2029. This may result in information being released to other users including academic researchers or consultants (commissioned by the funding bodies), to carry out research or analysis, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). Where information not previously published is released to third parties, this will be anonymised where practicable.

UKRI will require that anyone who has access to your data, held in UKRI’s records, paper or electronic, will respect its confidentiality and will only process it in accordance with instructions issued for the purposes specified by UKRI.

Parts of your data will be passed to the REF expert panels and advisory panels (whose members are independent of UKRI) for the purpose of conducting a systematic evaluation of submissions, in accordance with predetermined criteria and methods. All panel members are bound by confidentiality arrangements.

Publishing information about your part in our submission

The results of the assessment exercise will be published by UKRI, on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies, in 2030.

Those parts of submissions that contain factual data and textual information about research activity will also be published by UKRI, on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies, and will be made available online. Published information is likely to include textual information including impact case studies in which you may be referenced. Your name and job title may be included in this textual information and will be processed under the public task basis set out in Data Protection legislation.

Wherever possible, Cardiff University will endeavour to ensure that personal or identifying information, other than names and job titles, are not included in a statement. In reference to claims that are made relating to the industrial significance of an output, we will generally publish an individual’s position and company unless asked not to do so. Other personal details will normally be removed.

Accessing your personal data

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR, you have the right to request a copy of any personal information that UKRI holds about you. Further information about the Act and GDPR, and guidance on making a subject access request, can be found on the Research England website.

Contact

If you have any concerns about your information being used for these purposes, contact:

Data Protection Officer
Information Governance Group
Polaris House
Swindon
SN2 1FL
Email: dataprotection@ukri.org

See further information on data protection at Cardiff University, including the privacy notice for staff and how to contact the University Data Protection Officer.