CASES members appointed to the Research Excellence Framework 2029 Panel
11th September 2025
The Research Excellence Framework is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The REF outcomes are used to inform the allocation of around £2 billion per year of public funding for universities’ research. The REF is a process of expert review, carried out by sub-panels focused on subject-based units of assessment (UoAs), under the guidance of overarching main panels and advisory panels.
Panels are at the heart of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) process of expert review and in its most recent announcement, a number of CASES members and Fellows have been successful in being appointed to the sub panel for Sport and Exercise Sciences.
Commenting on the appointments, Prof Zoe Knowles FCASES, Chair of CASES, said,
“As Chair of the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, I want to offer congratulations to all of our members and Fellows who have recently been appointed to the REF 2029 UoA 24 Panel. It was pleasing to see a number of our members and Fellows amongst those selected. I wish you every success individually and as a collective panel with the task ahead of REF 2029.”
The REF is an expert review process. Universities and other institutions make submissions in specific subject areas, known as Units of Assessment (UoAs). Each submission is assessed by an expert sub-panel, working under the guidance of one of the four main panels. The panels are supported by the REF Secretariat and two advisory panels, (PDAP and RDAP).
Main panels (four in total) set the overall criteria and methods for assessment in their disciplinary area. They ensure that standards are applied consistently across the sub-panels and are responsible for approving the final assessment outcomes. Each main panel includes the chairs of its sub-panels, as well as additional members with interdisciplinary expertise, international expertise, and expertise in the use, application, and wider benefits of research.
Sub-panels (34 in total) focus on individual subject areas, known as Units of Assessment (UoAs). They are responsible for developing discipline-specific criteria and for carrying out the detailed assessment of submissions within their field. Each sub-panel includes expertise across the main fields of research within the UoA, and its membership should collectively command the respect of the relevant researcher and wider communities.
