QUALITY MEASUREMENT AS A BASIS FOR RESOURCE-ALLOCATION - RESEARCH ASSESSMENT EXERCISES IN UNITED-KINGDOM UNIVERSITIES

The research assessment exercises covering universities in the United Kingdom aim to produce quality ratings as a basis for the allocation o f much of the research funding from central government. For each subje ct area a panel drawn from higher education and research users awards a grade to each university department. Each subject is allocated prede termined share of the total research fund. The sum each university the n receives is determined by the number of active research workers and the grades awarded. The first research assessment exercises were carri ed out in 1986 and 1989. By the time of the 1992 exercise the number o f universities in the United Kingdom had increased dramatically with t he conferment of university status on all the former polytechnics and a small number of other institutions. This paper describes the way in which quality was assessed and the results of the 1992 exercise togeth er with the changes made for the next exercise taking place in March 1 996. The research assessment exercises have required the new universit ies (principally the former polytechnics) to compete on an equal footi ng with the established universities for research funding and thus for their staff to engage more fully in research. The result is a major c hange in the environment, particularly in the new universities. This p aper offers a preliminary examination of the attempts by universities to respond to this change with the consequential effect upon the labou r market.