With December’s restart, what next for REF2029 and for History?

by rhsadministration | 02 Feb 2026 | Advocacy and Policy, General, REF2029

    On 10 December 2025, Research England announced the ‘unpausing’ of REF2029 and, with it, completion of a three-month review of the terms and principles of the next assessment exercise. The messaging that accompanied December’s announcement was clear: a...

The value and provision of history and the humanities: it’s time for a political response

by rhsadministration | 02 Oct 2025 | Advocacy and Policy, General

  This week the government’s Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, announced the return of maintenance grants for students in greatest need. While we welcome recognition of the financial pressures and impediments many student face, it’s clear that...

History, Policy and the Cannabis Conundrum

by | 04 Jul 2025 | Advocacy and Policy, General, Guest Posts

    Historian Virginia Berridge has recently completed her term as a deputy chair of the London Drugs Commission, which published its report, The Cannabis Conundrum, in May of this year. Established by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the commission...

Making the Case for History: A View from the Royal Historical Society

by | 12 May 2025 | Advocacy and Policy, General, Guest Posts

  In April 2025, the Society’s President Lucy Noakes published the following article in History Workshop. The article is part of an occasional HW series exploring the scale, form and implications of cuts to history departments and courses in UK higher...

Becoming a Member of the History Subject Panel for REF2029. An Introduction and Guide

by | 17 Mar 2025 | Advocacy and Policy, General, REF2029

    The work of disciplinary sub-panels (including that for History) is fundamental to the Research Excellence Framework. Subject panels form the heart of REF, responsible for assessing and grading scholarly outputs, impact and research cultures across the...

A Saga and Other Stories: the Australian Historical Association

by | 24 Feb 2025 | Advocacy and Policy, General, Guest Posts

    What are the strengths of and threats to historical research in Australia today? In this post we hear from Michelle Arrow and Kate Fullagar, President and Vice-President respectively of the Australian Historical Association, about the experience of being...