PSG Meeting 3: 12/12/2017, UAL
Governance structure and influencing:
* Oriana Baddeley and Nick Fells appointed as Chair and Deputy Chair respectively.
* Tracy Banton, Director of Research Services, Goldsmiths, acted as Secretary to PSG.
* Professor Justin Lewis accepted an invitation to join the PSG from its February 2018 meeting.
* Anne Boddington, Maria Delgado, and Justin Lewis appointed as REF2021 Sub-Panel Chairs.
* Proposals discussed for the enhancement of PRAG-UK with appointments to the PSG of industry practitioners and influencers and the formation of a PRAG-UK Advisory Board. * The possible collaboration of PRAG-UK with The Creative Industries Federation (link), national organisation for the UK’s creative industries, is being negotiated to create a cross-industry and education sector voice, Arts in education.
* PRAG-UK will apply to ResearchEngland (previously HEFCE) to become a nominating body for population of REF2021 panels.
The problem of preserving our practice research heritage (traceability)
* Practice portfolios and other outputs risk being lost in the aftermath of REF-style exercises potentially depriving the sector of an inheritance of practice research typology, thinking and development. A digital platform that supports the evolution of PR projects and generates a unique traceable identity number (similar to the doi for textual works) is required.
* A common problem for institutional repositories is the limitation in aggregating the items of the portfolio.
* The ORCID ID system may provide a solution and some HEIs are developing in-house solutions to capturing the research process, eg P-Log at Goldsmiths.
* The SG’s institutions plan to share the costs of a roundtable event in 2018 designed to pump prime the Web of Arts project.
* The Web of Arts project outlining portfolios as exemplars is the subject of an evolving research grant bid to the AHRC.
PSG Meeting 4: 12/02/2018, UAL
Governance structure, remit and influencing: * David Sweeney, Executive Chair of Research England (link), attended the meeting to discuss Practice Research in REF2021.
* Jane Boggan, REF2014/REF2021 Panel D Advisor and REF Excellence Manager, Goldsmiths; Sharon Cole and Jeremy Barraud, both Deputy Directors of Research Management and Administration, UAL, were co-opted on to the PSG.
* Tracy Banton, Director of Research Services, Goldsmiths, acted as Secretary to the FSG.
* PRAG-UK is now recognised as a nominating body by ResearchEngland: a meeting to discuss nominations for Panel Assessors in 2019 will be held. * Extending the PRAG-UK remit to address the new national Industrial Strategy (link to PDF), via ResearchEngland’s Knowledge Exchange framework (link), is being considered as creative practice’s strength in the economy is better aligned to these initiatives than to REF2021. * The PSG has commissioned a website, http://www.prag-uk.org, designed by Dominique Baron-Bonarjee, and set up a Twitter account, @PRAG_UK, to promote PRAG-UK’s activities and as tools in creating national, and international, networks using email distribution lists to disseminate.
* Communications and advocacy for academic, lay, subject associations, and international audiences that engage the research communities, and not solely practice researchers, are key to creating understanding that REF-style exercises require new modes to fully include practice research.
* Liaison with REF2021 Panel Chairs (both main and sub) is vital for PRAG-UK’s remit.
* REF has been exported to a number of countries (in particular Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore) and international debate will strengthen the argument to governments.
* http://www.prag-uk.org will include a blog site on themes of particular concern; blog posts, adopting he ResearchEngland (HEFCE) Guidelines, are planned on fractional practice appointments whose contribution links the academic and creative industries sectors; and ECR career development.
* PSG members will act as champions of PRAG-UK and be pro-active in the promotion of group activities and aims to a broad multi-sectorial audience including subject associations. An annual activity plan will be developed.
* The first roundtable town meeting with representatives invited by the PSG to be held on 11 May.
REF2021: Portfolios, institutional repositories and traceability of practice research:
* Research income from industry and the Arts Council is not recognised in REF2021 as part of the research income measure; it should be included in Unit of Assessment [UoA] research environment description.
* As discussed in the February meeting, a classification number for a key aspect of the PR would allow traceability beyond the REF exercise even where the number linked only to a component of the practice research and not the full portfolio.
* ResearchEngland does not require participating HEIs to use a repositories recognising the limitations of such platforms to store some creative formats.
* PRAG-UK will formally respond to the consultation on the first set of criteria to be published this summer.
* Kim Hackett, REF Manager, will meet with the PRAG-UK Chair to discuss the Group’s key issues.
* The PSG will invite key Main Panel D members to future meetings to further promote key issues in the exercise.
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