The UK Research Assessment Exercise: Unintended Consequences

It is argued that many of the consequences that have followed successive Research Assessment Exercises (RAEs) have been unintended and a high proportion of these, particularly the longer term ones, are deleterious or potentially so. Of these, the most serious is almost certainly the competitive, adversarial and punitive spirit evoked by the RAE which is clearly inherent in it. Unfortunately, it is in the nature of long term consequences that, by the time that they become apparent, they are usually beyond remedying. It is therefore essential, now that there is to be a more fundamental review of the RAE, to be aware of potentially deleterious consequences, so as to avoid them before they become apparent, let alone researchable.