This field records whether or not the member of staff is a research assistant

All staff where Contract.ACEMPFUN is coded 2 and Contract.TERMS is coded 1 or 2.

Research assistants are defined in the guidance on submissions, paragraphs 128 to 134.

Research assistants (sometimes also described as postdoctoral research assistants, research associates or assistant researchers) as defined in the REF guidance, are not eligible to be returned to the REF unless, exceptionally, they meet the definition of an independent researcher on the census date and satisfy the definition of Category A eligible staff.

Research England have stated:

“We intend to use the RESAST field as part of our identification of the REF Category A eligible pool among the HESA staff population. Therefore, staff who are carrying out another individual's research programme, and therefore do not meet the definition of an independent researcher in accordance with the HEI’s code of practice, should be identified as a research assistant (RESAST=1) in the HESA return”.

Further details on Category A eligible staff can be found in the guidance on submissions, paragraphs 117 to 122.

Frequently asked questions that relate to the REF 2021 and policy matters can be found here. Any queries that relate to the REF should be addressed to [email protected], which will be monitored by Research England.