REF 2029 impact: when measurement changes what universities value

When measurement changes what it measures

Lewis and Williams bring us a refreshing paper that could make for a great after-dinner conversation. Well, perhaps not everyone’s choice, but as I typed that sentence I found myself imagining a stuffy, slightly smoky reading room, a tipple of choice in hand, surrounded by some very serious-looking intellectuals debating whether measuring impact ultimately changes the very thing being measured.

This sits at the core of their argument. They warn that a measurement framework “has the potential to constrain what counts as valuable research”.

What this means for REF 2029 impact

This is very close to our Hivve hearts because we have worked with partners in Australia, Hong Kong and the UK on the assessments at the core of the paper. Across the REF, the RAE and Australia’s Engagement and Impact assessment, we have helped people identify impact, capture and verify evidence, develop and review case studies, and understand results across whole systems.

The authors’ central argument therefore feels familiar. These frameworks do not simply observe impact from a respectful distance. Through their definitions, templates, criteria, ratings and consequences, they shape the stories institutions tell, the evidence they collect and the cases they choose. In doing so, they may ultimately influence which kinds of research and engagement institutions choose to support and reward.

Anyone developing a REF impact case study will recognise this tension. An impact case study template is not simply an empty container. Together with the expectations for REF corroborating evidence, it helps determine which stories become visible, credible and submission-ready. This makes the debate particularly relevant to REF 2029 engagement and impact.

When structure helps, and when it narrows

What we have found, however, is that this is not quite a simple tale of measurement squeezing the life out of impact. Structure can narrow, but it can also make previously overlooked work visible and easier to understand, give researchers and professional teams a shared language, prompt earlier and better evidence collection, and create permission for engagement and impact to be taken seriously.

This is particularly evident when collecting impact evidence from external partners. Impact case study testimonials and other evidence held by collaborators or beneficiaries can bring previously overlooked contributions into view, but only if the relationships and context behind that evidence are preserved.

The real danger comes when the framework becomes the destination rather than a lens, and a tidy, template-ready story counts for more than the slower, messier and locally meaningful change taking place beyond it. The challenge is therefore not to abandon measurement, but to design and use it intelligently, with expert human judgement that remembers the assessment is only a proxy for public value, never public value itself.

Accountability without uniformity

Before you throw your post-dinner drink of choice into the fire in disgust at the very suggestion, Lewis and Williams also remind us that a productive direction may be to “retain some structured accountability while building in flexibility”.

From our experience in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia, the question of how to evidence partnership impact has never had a formulaic or standard answer. There are frameworks and shared ways of thinking, certainly, but our partners have always pleasantly surprised us with the originality of the problems they research and the creativity with which they engage the people and communities relevant to that work.

Even within narrowly defined frameworks, the creative spirit shown by those involved in research assessments, both researchers and professional services staff, is nothing short of remarkable and worth nurturing further.

Making impact visible, rigorous and useful

That is where Hivve’s messaging pillars come alive. To Make Impact Visible means ensuring valuable change is not overlooked. To Build Confidence Through Rigour means giving impact claims a strong evidential backbone. Progress Made Possible means treating assessment as a prompt for learning and improvement. And Impact You Can Use means leaving institutions with evidence, insight and capability that continue to serve them long after a REF 2029 submission is complete.