Bulletin No. 2, 2015

‘Knowledge transfer bridges the gap between town and gown, benefiting both. Our academic research is intended to address global challenges and societal needs. At its best, knowledge transfer leads to the development of new strategic partnerships, the identification of socially relevant research themes, and delivery of our research outputs to benefit our community.’ Prof. Fanny M. Cheung, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) RAE and REF in the UK In the UK, the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) was conducted every five years beginning in the mid-1980s to assess the quality of research undertaken by higher education institutions. Each subject area within an institution would make RAE submissions which were subsequently given a rank by an expert panel. These rankings then informed the allocation of QR or quality weighted research funding that the institution would receive from the government. In the 2013–14 academic year, the RAE was replaced by the Research Excellence Framework (REF), which judges research quality not only by number and quality of publications and research grants, but also on the impact of the research project outside academic circles. The new exercise requires university departments to provide case studies proving the social impact of their work. Impact could take the form of public outreach or contribution to the wider community through medical science. In the new framework, the three main elements on which research quality is evaluated carry different weight—output (65%), research environment (15%) and, now, impact (20%). Funded projects are chosen by the Knowledge Transfer Committee, headed by Prof. Fanny M. Cheung , Pro- Vice-Chancellor (Research). Criteria include relevance to social needs, level of community engagement, project’s visibility to members of society, likeliness to raise professional standards of the industry involved or awareness and quality of life of the community. Raising Relevance of Social Impact The projects’ outcomes, like number of visits made and people reached, are measured, but Dr. Tsoi admits that qualitative impact like behavioural and social change is hard to gauge. He also points out that while the University encourages faculty members to engage in community projects, many of them may consider publishing and securing research grants more relevant to their performance evaluation as academics. That said, more weight may be given to community engagement in the not too distant future. The University Grants Commission’s British model of funding allocation depends on RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) results, but in the UK, the RAE has been replaced by the REF (Research Excellence Framework) which gives more weight to social impact. ‘In Hong Kong, the issue has been raised for discussion. I foresee that the emphasis on social impact will be reflected in the performance evaluation of universities in Hong Kong within 10 years’ time,’ Dr. Tsoi observes. Knowledge Delivered to the Doorstep—Knowledge Transfer Project Fund 5