Sharing this competition on behalf of the Hidden REF team

Does your work gain the recognition it deserves? If not, we want to hear from you by the 13th of September!

Research organisations use publications as practically the only measure of success, but research relies on a huge range of people and many types of work that are not typically recognised in publications. We can’t advance research if we don’t recognise everyone and everything that we rely on to conduct research.

You can help us shine a spotlight on this issue by taking part in the Hidden REF competition. We want to hear about unrecognised research roles, from technicians to data stewards and more, and your unrecognised outputs, from software to musical compositions to anything else that is important to research. The more submissions we receive, the more evidence we have to continue our successful campaign to increase recognition for everyone who works in research.

The Hidden REF competition 2024 closes for submissions on 13th September at 11.59. Submissions are a maximum of 900 words. If you work in a UK organisation and take part in or support research in any way, you can enter the Hidden REF competition. Your job family, the type of contract you are on, your institution’s approach to recognition: none of these matter to us. If you take part in or support research in any way, you are welcome to take part in the Hidden REF competition.

If you would like to get more involved with the competition, you can apply to become a member of one of our assessment panels. As a panellist you will help review the submissions and contribute to our growing evidence bank on the assessment of non-traditional outputs and hidden roles.

The Hidden REF was launched in 2020 to raise awareness of the research outputs and roles that are vital to research but overlooked by traditional research evaluation. We want to build a more effective and more equitable system for recognising contributions to research success. For updates, visit the Hidden REF website or follow the Hidden REF on LinkedIn, BlueSky or X. Contact us at info@hidden-ref.org.

The competition is now waiting for your submission!