Pausing the Research Excellence Framework (REF) amid concerns over its controversial environment section could signal the start of more fundamental shift away from an institutional focus on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives, say experts.

They warned that a Trump-style diversity spending purge should not be ruled out.

The three-month review of REF 2029, which was announced by science minister Lord Vallance at last week’s Universities UK conference, has been widely viewed as marking a fundamental shift in how the exercise’s people, culture and environment (PCE) section will influence the allocation of £2 billion in quality-related funding awarded annually to universities.

While some expect the PCE’s weighting, which was due to increase to the same as impact at 25 per cent, to be downgraded, others believe more radical action is on the cards. That could include the scrapping of PCE altogether, with research culture becoming a regulatory matter in which universities are required to hit minimum standards as a condition of funding.

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“The REF shapes £20 billion of public spending so it has to align with the country’s priorities. Making sure universities are a happier place – which is what research culture boils down to – is not on the government’s list of priorities,” said one sector figure to ̽����Ƶ.

John Womersley, former chief executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, said the REF’s delay is likely to go beyond technocratic concerns about the feasibility of as-yet-announced PCE metrics.

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“Though 2029 seems like a really long way off, it’s not in REF terms; if you start working your way back, then universities will need to start putting together some kind of a dry run for the REF this year but they are completely in the dark on PCE,” he said about the behind-the-scenes challenges.

“There seems to be a bigger concern about the drift into prioritising diversity metrics over excellence. Ministers might have looked over the Atlantic and what happened over there – with universities caricatured as having people in the DEI office rather than professors – and thought: ‘Do you want that here – and the backlash too?’” continued Womersley.

“In opposition, Labour could be loud in their support for progressive causes.  But now they are in government they are having to think more carefully.  We saw this with Wes Streeting backing away from puberty blockers and gender-affirming care.  And for the universities too – when it was the Tories complaining about being too woke it was easy to push back, but when Labour cabinet ministers are raising concerns then it is harder to ignore,” he said.

The PCE decision might represent important recognition by UK Research and Innovation and universities that this priority does not command political support, Womersley said.

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“Universities have lots of support but it is a very thin type of support; vice-chancellors are increasingly conscious of the limits of their social pact with the public and realise more EDI focus might stretch the elastic on this. There is not the willingness to indulge things they did a year or two ago,” he said.

Ian Pace, professor of music, culture and society at City St George’s, University of London, said the “principles of equality of opportunity, encouraging diverse students and staff to participate in academia” should remain vital to academia but there are growing questions about EDI and the bloated layers of administration that have grown around it”.

“They have come to mean something else, a form of ideological policing and gatekeeping from advocates of critical social justice, which prioritise identity and ‘lived experience’ over research excellence and other forms of academic prowess,” said Pace, founding member and secretary of the London Universities’ Council for Academic Freedom.

Recent stories about job adverts requiring applicants to explicitly commit to principles, which were withdrawn because they contradicted Office for Students advice, underlined how EDI had assumed an outsized influence in university life, continued Pace. “But many appointments – some with highly politicised job titles – have already been made across the sector on this basis.”

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“The proposed re-weighting of the REF regarding PCE constituted a reflection of a sector in which some have won advancement because of ideological conformity rather than more dispassionately measured excellence – the 25 per cent weighting was an atrocious proposal and I am glad it is being reconsidered.”

Asked whether the UK government might seek to scale back EDI spending similar to the purge seen in America under Trump, he added: “The sort of draconian reaction we have seen in the US under Trump would not be a positive move here but it is not unthinkable if there is a future government in which Reform plays a major role.”

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com