Like many of you, Manchester AUT executive is seriously concerned about the RAE and how it is affecting the conditions in which we work and are able to carry out research. As a trade Union we must at least ensure that preparations for the RAE do not result in violations of procedures we and the employers agreed. In particular, we were seriously concerned that RAE requirements are being substituted for agreed contractual requirements pertinent to research, and we have intervened with the University Research Committee (chaired by Professor Rothwell.) Following consultations, this committee issued the following statement.
We will of course act to represent members with respect to RAE related problems – but you have to let us know.
"University Research Group assures the membership of UMAUT that the external reviews of research will follow clear, rigorous and centrally monitored procedures and that the confidentiality of data relating to individuals is of paramount importance.
External reviews are intended to provide one element of a programme of annual review of research for all parts of the University, the element which is specifically designed to prepare the University for the RAE2008 in order to maximize the outcome. This programme as a whole will provide a robust assessment of performance in research for the purposes of developing appropriate management, support and investment strategies and activities in pursuit of the goals of the Manchester 2015 agenda. The analysis of the external assessment data by the Research Office will be concerned only with the overall distribution of quality amongst groups, Schools and Faculties and with changes in this distribution over time. Neither the Research Office nor senior University level staff will make use of data to assess individual performance. Information on the quality of individual research outputs and other indicators will be used at School level to contribute to ongoing processes for individual career development and enhancement and to prepare for the RAE2008.
External reviews and their results will not be used as a substitute for agreed procedures such as Performance Development Review (formerly 'appraisal'), promotions, Disciplinary Procedures or Probation review. The results of External Review will not be used to pressurise staff into decisions on changes of contract or voluntary severance. Care will be taken within Schools and Faculties that confidentiality of data relating to individuals will be respected, and such data will only be available to a small number of senior staff on a "need to know" basis.
The Research Group does not believe that external reviews will necessarily have a deleterious effect on the research and scholarship of academic staff, especially since these reviews should not just focus on research from the perspective of the RAE. On the contrary, well designed reviews will allow an objective assessment by peers of a School’s research environment and strategy, as well as the contributions of individual researchers, which will assist in determining the most appropriate support for individual research and scholarship. This should be an entirely positive outcome for the University and individual researchers alike."