REF Director – Research England
Kim Hackett is the REF Director at Research England. Kim leads the Research Excellence Framework (REF) policy, administrative and systems development teams, and is responsible for delivering the REF 2021 exercise. The REF team is based at Research England, and manages the exercise on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies.
About Kim
Kim joined HEFCE in 2009 and gained a range of experience in policy development in the areas of research assessment and funding policy. She was involved in the early development and initial implementation of the REF 2014 exercise, before taking up roles in wider research policy and leading the evaluation of REF 2014. In 2015, Kim took up a post as a senior government social research role in the area of equality and inclusion with the Welsh Government, before returning to HEFCE in 2017 to take up her current role.
Kim’s academic background is in the humanities. She has a degree in History from the University of St Andrews, and a PhD in History from the University of York. Kim also holds a Masters in Policy Research from the University of Bristol.
Last updated: 31 March 2022