In December the REF Readiness Review of Output will begin using the Research Information System (RIS). This is the first year of using RIS for REF readiness and the first review since the comprehensive guidelines on the structure of REF were published.

Behind the scenes the RIS team are busy preparing for this activity. The REF module is being tested and in the live system we are importing output information from e-prints and the e-staff profiles systems.

The import from e-prints has gone well and RIS is now used exclusively for deposition of new outputs. The import from e-Staff profiles has proven difficult, because of poor data quality within the old system. The Library team are working hard with IS to make the RIS record of outputs as good as possible.

In November we will send out instructions for all academic staff to check their publications in RIS to ensure all University authors are linked to their correct papers. We only need to do this check once, but it will require a community effort to get the RIS record perfect. At this stage if you check your outputs they will probably be incomplete. Please don’t worry about this at present as the checking process will help to address any missing records.

In the past month we have launched a new RIS Repository and introduced a Contracts module, which is now being used by the Contracts team to organise their work and interface with Faculties. The Impact module is also live and we will be exploring how to make best use of this as the REF Readiness Review progresses.

Further training sessions on how to make a deposition through RIS will also be taking place in October and November. Sign up for a place on one of these courses here.