A Peer Review College for Enhancing Research Quality

A Peer Review College for Enhancing Research Quality at GCU Professor John Marshall Director Academic Research Development GCU Peer Review College launch 29 August 2011 page 1

Peer Review – the current position The University formally introduced a formal requirement for peer review of all research grant applications in AY 2010 -11. It is now launching the new Peer Review College to assist further in improving research quality. This initiative will contribute to the institutional environment narrative in REF, and principal investigator development requirements and demand management processes being introduced by research funding bodies. page 2

What is it for? The aim is to identify research leaders in the institution who can share their experience and expertise with colleagues for the benefit of the University’s research community. Since the research footprint of the University is relatively modest, an institution-wide Peer Review College provides a greater critical mass of expertise to draw on than might be available within local organisational structural units. page 3

How do you become a member? The initial membership of the college has been developed by invitation. Members of the peer review college are staff identified by the University as having a level of experience and expertise in research that would be helpful to other less experienced staff in developing their research activities. However, staff circumstances change over time, so the University will receive nominations for membership to the college and consider these based on the strategic rationale provided with the case. page 4

What are members of the Peer Review College expected to do? The University wishes to develop a research environment in which research leaders are supportive of less experienced researchers and are able to give feedback to guide the next generation of academic staff in their careers. Peer review college members will be asked to help with researcher staff development and mentoring, and to share their expertise with others in a collegiate manner to the benefit of the University as a whole. page 5

How will it work? The college is University-wide, and staff from any School or unit can seek advice from members of the college. Members of the college will provide information about their expertise in a pro-forma which will be available to staff to help identify where expertise and advice may be sought in the University Formal peer review will be mandatory for research grant applications Peer review should also be used for revising drafts of research publications that are identified as having significant importance for REF or for impact. page 6

Operation of the Peer Review College The operation of the College will be carried out by Schools in a manner that best suits their disciplines. Access to Peer Review College Members shall be directed by the School Associate Deans (Research) in order to avoid excessive loading on any individual member. The assessment of research quality will be a matter for the School to consider in the light of comments made by peer review members. page 7

GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY MEMBERSHIP OF PEER REVIEW COLLEGE DETAILS OF RESEARCH EXPERTISE FORM Name: School or Unit: Email: Telephone: Subject area expertise Research Funding Body/Grant Application expertise Methodology or Technique expertise Editorial Board/Journal/Publisher expertise Research Impact expertise Details to be available to staff and hosted on University Research Website page 8

As a member of the Peer Review College, I am concerned that I will not have sufficient time to do this work, even though I can see the purpose of it. What should I do? The load on any individual should be modest, and is probably going on informally to some degree at the moment. If you become concerned about the workload that results from this activity, you should discuss this with the Associate Dean of Research in the School and if necessary with the Dean and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research) page 9

Some areas of research are not covered by the expertise of members of the peer review college. How do we deal with these? If it becomes clear that there are deficiencies in the subject coverage or expertise of the college, the University Research Committee will received nominations with a case for support via the appropriate School Associate Deans of Research who are members of the Committee. page 10

What will the University do with the information? The University Research Committee is seeking to establish whether, at institutional level, the quality of our research activity is improving or not. Peer review feedback (both internal and external) will be recorded in PURE, the University’s new research information system Schools will be asked to report to the University Research Committee about the overall standard of research on an annual basis. The University will also refer to the Peer Review College as a development that contributes to the research environment in the REF 2014 narrative. page 11

Thank you for your attention. A FAQ document relating to the peer review college is available on the University Research Website. However, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the GCU Peer Review College page 12