Research updates

The Hidden REF Competition 2026 is now open for your submissions!

The Hidden REF Competition celebrates all research outputs and everyone involved in their creation. The competition recognises a range of outputs that are not traditionally submitted to the REF and also people who work in a range of roles that are vital to research but overlooked by traditional research organisations. At the University of Edinburgh, we referred to them as Diverse Research Outputs and a working group has been exploring its potential. Some outcomes of the working group can be found at the REF 2029 Diverse Research Outputs SharePoint (see below).

This year’s competition includes 25 categories (see below), which have been collected from community suggestions made since 2020.

Head over to the Hidden REF website (below) to read all about it, and find out how to submit your entry.

They are also hosting bi-monthly a drop-in sessions, intended for people to ask questions about the competition while submissions are open, but also for anything else you’d like to know about, or discuss with, the Hidden REF. See link below for more details.

If you would like to discuss your Diverse Research Outputs, please get in touch with the CAHSS REF team at CAHSS.REF@ed.ac.uk