On Monday (14 March), the Race, Culture & Equality Working Group submitted its comments for the RGS-IBG’s response on the current REF consultation (Lord Stern’s review). Based on a number of reports from the Equality Challenge Unit, the University and Colleges Union, and the Higher Education Council for England, the comments highlight the REF as an engine of deepening racial inequalities. This is due to the enforcement of particular imaginaries of international academic excellence that frequently exclude raced/Global South scholars, publications and topics. You can view and download the document here.

Many thanks to Kalwant Bhopal, Claire Herbert (REC), Gurminder Bhambra, Robbie Shilliam and Meera Sabaratnam for helping us with essential information.