research excellence framework university of nottingham

Research Excellence Framework

Securing a world-class, dynamic and responsive research base across the full academic spectrum within UK higher education

The REF is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. It first took place in 2014 and 2021 . The next exercise is planned for 2029.

What is the REF’s purpose?

• Inform the allocation of block-grant research funding to HEIs based on research quality
• Provide accountability for public investment in research and produce evidence of the benefits of this investment
• Provide insights into the health of research in HEIs in the UK

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s system for assessing the excellence of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). The REF outcomes are used to inform the allocation of around £2 billion per year of public funding for universities’ research. The REF is a process of expert review, carried out by sub-panels focused on subject-based units of assessment (UoAs), under the guidance of overarching main panels and advisory panels. For the purposes of the REF, research is defined as a process of investigation leading to new insights, effectively shared.

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REF 2021: Quality ratings hit new high in expanded assessment

Four in five outputs judged to be either ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

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The quality of UK scholarship as rated by the Research Excellence Framework has hit a new high following reforms that required universities to submit all research-active staff to the 2021 exercise.

For the first time in the history of the UK’s national audit of research, all staff with a “significant responsibility” for research were entered for assessment – a rule change that resulted in 76,132 academics submitting at least one research output, up 46 per cent from 52,000 in 2014.

Overall, 41 per cent of outputs were deemed world-leading (4*) by assessment panels and 43 per cent judged internationally excellent (3*), which was described as an “exceptional achievement for UK university research” by Steven Hill, director of research at Research England, which runs the REF.

In the 2014 assessment 30 per cent of research got a 4* rating, with 46 per cent judged to be 3*.

Who’s up, who’s down? See how your institution performed in REF 2021 Output v impact: where is your institution strongest? Unit of assessment tables: see who's top in your subject More staff, more excellent research, great impacts: David Sweeney on REF 2021

Analysis of institutional performance by Times Higher Education now puts the grade point average at UK sector level at 3.16 for outputs, compared with 2.90 in 2014. Scores for research impact have also increased , from 3.24 to 3.35.

At least 15 per cent of research was considered world-leading in three-quarters of the UK’s universities.

And analysis by THE suggests that institutions outside London have improved their performance the most, with several Russell Group universities from outside the “golden triangle” of Oxford, Cambridge and London making major gains .

REF 2021 results at a glance: 

See here for full results table

The results of the REF will be used to distribute quality-related research funding by the UK’s four higher education funding bodies, the value of which will stand at around £2 billion from 2022-23.

The requirement to submit all research-active staff was introduced following the review of the REF conducted by Lord Stern in 2016 and was designed to reduce institutional “game-playing” over which staff members were submitted.

Outputs in REF 2014 and 2021 

The uptick in quality may be driven by universities focusing instead on which of their researchers’ outputs should be submitted, allowing greater flexibility to pick “excellent” scholarship.

In the 2014 exercise, each participating researcher was expected to submit four outputs, but this time the number of outputs can range between one and five, with an average of 2.5 per full-time equivalent researcher expected. In the 2021 exercise, a single output was submitted for 44 per cent of researchers who participated.

University staff had welcomed the new submission rules which had removed the “emotional pressure” caused by deliberations over whether they would be “in or out” of the REF – a decision that often had consequences for future promotions, said David Sweeney, executive chair of Research England. “There is no longer that same pressure on individuals,” he reflected.

Methodology: how THE calculates its REF tables

However, the rule change has been linked to universities’ decisions to move many staff on to teaching-only contracts in recent years, with the latest data showing that about 20,000 academics  are employed on such terms compared with five years ago .

This change represented a welcome clarification of academics’ roles rather than “game-playing’ on behalf of institutions, insisted Mr Sweeney. “If these contracts represent the expectations of institutions and the responsibilities of academics, that is not game-playing, it is transparency,” he said.

David Price, vice-provost (research) at UCL and chair of the REF’s main panel B (physical sciences, engineering and mathematics), agreed that “the REF may have helped in resolving many contractual ambiguities. Game-playing has not been noticeable,” he said.

Dame Jessica Corner, pro vice-chancellor (research and knowledge exchange) at the University of Nottingham , said that “less focus on individuals with the partial separation of outputs from academics has been helpful”.  

“That outputs can be returned by institutions where individuals worked if they move jobs has reduced, though not entirely eliminated, the academic transfer market,” she added.

James Wilsdon, Digital Science professor of research policy at the University of Sheffield , agreed. “The large-scale transfers of people between institutions that we saw in the lead-up to REF 2014 have definitely reduced, which is positive,” said Professor Wilsdon, who said that while “choices around inclusion and exclusion of individuals with ‘significant responsibility’ have been complex in some institutions – particularly less research-intensive universities – some have welcomed the clarity that this brought to different roles in terms of research, teaching and hybrid roles.”

“The game-playing, where it occurs, is often more subtle: it’s about the gradual sifting and reordering of what kinds of research, and what kinds of impact, are deemed ‘excellent’,” he explained.

Kieron Flanagan, professor of science and technology policy at the University of Manchester , questioned the extent to which REF game-playing had been eliminated.

“There is bound to have been some of this happening because habits are hard to break – people who run university research have come in a management system informed by REFs over the past 10 to 20 years – some game-playing is inevitable,” he said.

However, Jane Millar, emerita professor of social policy at the University of Bath , who chaired the social sciences REF panel, believed the Stern review reforms had “worked well”.

“We saw a great diversity in the submissions, from very small to very large, from well-established and new units,” said Professor Millar, who added that there had been “examples of world-leading and internationally excellent quality across the range”.

THE Campus: How I plan to get through REF results day THE Campus: The good, the bad and the way forward: how UK universities should respond to REF results THE Campus: Don’t let the REF tail wag the academic dog

Interdisciplinary research was also “well presented”, with the Stern reforms encouraging greater links between subjects, with “sub-panels whose reach stretched through to design and engineering, physical and/or biological sciences, humanities, biomechanics, and medicine”, added Professor Millar.

With an international review body  examining the future of the REF , there has been some speculation that this could be its final incarnation.

But Mr Sweeney said that the REF remained an important tool in justifying the £9 billion or so in research funding given to institutions in open-ended funding that is likely to flow from the exercise.

[email protected]

POSTSCRIPT:

Print headline:  REF submission rules help push quality to new high

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• Our Research and Impact

Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 provides accountability for public investment in research. It demonstrates its benefits, and provides important reputational yardsticks and benchmarking information about the research performance of UK universities. This informs the selective allocation of funding for research.

REF 2021 is the UK’s system for assessing the excellence of research in higher education providers. The outcomes are used to inform the allocation of around £2 billion per year of public funding for universities’ research. 30 years ago, the UK was the first country to assess the quality of university research. Today, the UK is still seen as a leader in this area.

REF was first carried out in 2014, replacing the previous Research Assessment Exercise. Research England manages the REF on behalf of all the four UK higher education funding bodies. The funding bodies’ shared policy aim for research assessment is to maintain a world-class, dynamic and responsive research environment across all higher education providers.

NTU submitted a total of 39 impact case studies to the REF 2021. Our impact case studies were highly rated: 86% of our research impact was rated as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' in terms of quality. Our impact case studies demonstrate how research undertaken at NTU has benefitted the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment, and quality of life, beyond academia.

I am immensely proud of the results we’ve achieved. I am especially delighted to be recognised for our impact; reflecting the commitment to ensuring our research works in ways to benefit our communities. Importantly, these results show that a university that prides itself on its teaching can also contribute world leading and internationally excellent research and that the two are not mutually exclusive. Our students’ experience can only be enhanced by the innovation and ideas from our academics who are regarded the world over.

Edward Peck, Vice-Chancellor

Explore our research submitted to the REF 2021

NTU made submissions to 14 discipline-based Units of Assessment in the REF 2021. The Units of Assessment are subject-based categories of the framework, where each Unit of Assessment is made up of experts who assess submissions consisting of: research outputs, impact case studies and environmental statements. Quality profiles are assigned to each element, and an overall profile is awarded to each submission. These range from world-leading to unclassified. Full details of NTU's submissions to REF 2021 will be available on the REF 2021 website in June 2022.

Discover the impact case studies submitted under each Unit of Assessment by clicking on the boxes below, or explore all of our impact case studies .

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience, computer science and informatics, engineering, architecture, built environment and planning, geography and environmental studies, business and management studies, social work and social policy, sport and exercise sciences, leisure and tourism, english language and literature, art and design: history, practice and theory, communication, cultural & media studies, library & information management, research excellence framework 2021 code of practice.

NTU’s participation in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 is governed by a Code of Practice, covering the below areas. Our  Code of Practice has been approved by Research England.

• Transparency in relation to decision making processes and communication.
• Consistency through governance and oversight of institutional processes.
• Accountability in relation to the responsibilities of individuals and committee and/or groups involved in relevant processes.
• Inclusivity and how it is supported and promoted across areas and within the work of the institution.

Research Excellence Framework 2021 Privacy Notice

This  privacy notice is for those providing Nottingham Trent University (NTU) with evidence in support of impact case studies that have been submitted to the Research Excellence Framework 2021.

Re:search Re:imagined

To us, research is about more than writing papers and proposing new ideas. By daring to think differently, we’re disrupting the research landscape and finding the answers to the questions that really matter. From social media addiction to sustainable farming, we’re inspiring the brightest minds to rise up and find solutions to some of the most significant global challenges facing society.

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REF 2014 results

We've built on our REF 2014 results this year, submitting 39 case studies to 14 different Units of Assessment. Of the 14 Units of Assessment to which NTU made submissions in REF 2021, all saw an improvement in overall quality profile from REF 2014. In the REF 2021, 83% of our research activity was classified either as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent', compared with 55% of our research activity in the REF 2014.

In 2014, we had 200 research colleagues involved in our REF submissions. In 2021, we doubled this number and now more than 400 different research colleagues have been involved in our impactful research. Find out more about our REF 2014 results .

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Results of Research Excellence Framework are published

12 May 2022

The results of the UK-wide assessment of university research, conducted through the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF), have been published.

The 2021 assessment process has identified a substantial proportion of world-leading research across all UK nations and English regions, and across the full range of subject areas.

For the first time, the assessment included the submission of all staff with significant responsibility for research.

This means the results provide a unique insight to the quality of research conducted across the breadth of university activity.

Recognising excellence

REF has recognised the wide distribution of excellent research, both across the UK, with over 80% of research judged to be world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*) in each UK nation and English region.

It has also recognised the wide distribution of excellent research across a broad group of universities, of all sizes and types, with world-leading quality identified in 99% of participating universities.

REF assessment process

The REF provides a robust and thorough assessment of the quality of universities’ research in all disciplines, providing accountability for public investment in research and demonstrating the benefits of that investment.

In total, 157 UK universities participated, submitting over 76,000 academic staff.

The submissions included:

• research outputs
• examples of the wider benefits of research
• evidence about the research environment.

This material was assessed by a series of expert panels comprising of:

• UK and international researchers
• external users of research and experts in interdisciplinary research.

Executive Chair for Research England, David Sweeney, said:

Changes to the exercise have meant that we have been able to capture more of the excellent research undertaken by our globally-facing universities and the detailed results indicate that world-leading research is distributed widely across subjects, types of university, and in all parts of the UK. This particular exercise evidences the significant contribution research across the whole of the UK makes to the government’s levelling up agenda and reiterates that the UK higher education research sector is indeed playing its role in supporting the government to achieve its ambition as a science super power.

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This is the website for UKRI: our seven research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Let us know if you have feedback or would like to help improve our online products and services .

University of Nottingham Ranked Jointly at 7th Place in the Research Excellence Framework 2021

It’s the beginning of 2022 and numerous prestigious ranking bodies have published their results after analyzing UK universities on various factors. Out of all one such university which has risen to fame is the ‘University of Nottingham’ which has been ranked jointly at 7th position in the final results published by the Research Excellence Framework REF 2021 . It’s quite evident on Nottingham getting rewarded with such great ranking for its spectacular research projects through which it’s changed the lives of numerous people living worldwide. Though apart from research quality other factors such as critical mass, sustainability and international impact too have helped the ‘University of Nottingham’ secure 7th position in the REF 2021 list. As there were many pieces of research which relatively impacted the lives of the people still there were some which surely achieved a big landmark . Have a look below to know more!

• Talented researchers from the School of Medicine of the ‘ University of Nottingham ‘ helped the National Health Service (NHS) save £233 million by modifying vaccination policies for adults against pneumococcal diseases that could lead to blood poisoning, meningitis & pneumonia.
• Researchers from the University of Nottingham executed a detailed case study on women who have been working during menopause along with devising the working conditions for women who have been working during menopause . They also aimed to abolish this taboo which is put by society on the women who work during the menopause stages.
• A team of researchers created an advanced form of computerized algorithms which was further utilized for controlling the carbon dioxide emissions & decreasing the congestion in air traffic during the tough times.
• The evolution of wearable magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scanners by the researchers from this university is termed to be highly impressive research which was invented for the benefit of society. It helped the medical fraternity to demonstrate a remarkable knowledge about mental health conditions, neurological diseases & fatal neurodegenerative disorders.

Talking about the above research, Professor Shearer West ( Vice-Chancellor ~ University of Nottingham ) stated that it’s obvious that our university is known all across the world for its quality optimized research performed in various departments which are far distinct from each other. The final results truly showcase the skills & effort that all the researchers put forward to achieve the designated mark. He also said that he’s extremely proud as most of the research from the university has been leaving a positive impact on the industry, healthcare, business, culture & public policy sector in the UK and all across the world.

This was indeed an informative university update on the ‘ University of Nottingham ‘ right? We all know that getting shortlisted and ranked by Research Excellence Framework (REF) isn’t easy and only those universities who have indulged in performing in unique and innovative research make it here and that’s the reason University of Nottingham  is here as it’s has a proven record where researchers from this university have given their 100% effort, commitment & dedication to generate a successful finding at the last.

So this was all for now and if you’re someone who also wishes to be a part of such top-notch research projects then joining ‘ University of Nottingham ‘ could be an excellent career choice for you. But for that you’ll need to first complete your undergraduate (UG) or postgraduate (PG) degree whichever you wish to study here and then only you can head over to pursue a PhD degree later in future where you’ll be provided with an opportunity to work on massive research projects with some leading experts.

Moreover, in some courses (UG/PG) , you’ll also be asked to work on a dissertation project in the final year which will build your knowledge to a higher proficiency making you more familiar with the subjects. With all this, we’re now wrapping up and if you wish to know more about the courses taught at the University of Nottingham then you can book a consultation call with Speak2University experts who’ll guide you about the same or you can have a look at some of the popular courses taught here in the list mentioned below.

• MSc Entrepreneurship Innovation & Management
• Masters of Business Administration MBA
• MArch Architecture & Sustainable Design
• MSc Electronic Communication and Computer Engineering
• LLM International Commercial Law
• MSc Physiotherapy
• MSc Machine Learning in Science

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February 26, 2024, by Rob Ounsworth

• Celebrating excellence and improving the research experience

Professor Tom Rodden’s research update

In my latest update, I am delighted to share news of how the quality of research and knowledge exchange at Nottingham has been acknowledged and celebrated.  

We hosted visitors, including Science Minister Andrew Griffith MP and key funders, who were hugely impressed by our world-leading researchers and partnerships. I would like to thank colleagues involved in the visits, which also marked significant funding successes.  

My congratulations also to all those involved in the 2024 Knowledge Exchange and Impact awards , which represent only a fraction of the excellent work in these areas across the university. At an inspiring awards evening, we celebrated the impact of our research and knowledge exchange, while offering guests and colleagues the opportunity to connect and forge new collaborations.  

I’m also pleased to announce an ambitious project that is committed to making life easier at every stage of the research project lifecycle.

Visits by high-profile funders and Science Minister   

During his visit, Science Minister Andrew Griffith MP announced a £2m award to University of Nottingham spin-out company Cerca Magnetics to support research into detecting early signs of dementia, using revolutionary brain scanning technology developed at Nottingham.  

Mr Griffith, accompanied by Dr Amanda Collis of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, unveiled the Nottingham award as part of a £45m government investment in the UK’s quantum sector.  

The minister also visited the university’s GlycoCell Engineering Biology Mission Hub, which will develop vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, benefiting millions of people worldwide, thanks to funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The hub will receive £12.3m in funding as part of an overall investment of £100m from UKRI’s Technology Missions Fund.  

Professor Christopher Smith, executive chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, meanwhile visited the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University to learn about how we are working to support creative and cultural initiatives in the city, including the Department of Classics and Archaeology’s AHRC-funded City of Caves project.  

Improving the researcher experience  

I am also pleased to share news of an ambitious project aiming to making life easier at every stage of the research project lifecycle, as part of the university’s commitment to provide an environment that helps everyone deliver world-class research.  

Delivering our pioneering research involves teams of dedicated colleagues across faculties, schools and professional services. From putting in a bid, securing funding, getting a project code, signing contracts, recruitment and purchasing through to producing exciting outputs, delivering research is challenging and rewarding. And at points along this complex research lifecycle, it can be pretty frustrating!  

We have listened to your experiences and how this process could be improved, with the goal of creating a more streamlined, efficient and satisfying work environment for everyone.  

My thanks to all involved in this important work and to all the dedicated colleagues who have shared their expertise and experiences so far at workshops. By identifying challenges and offering constructive suggestions, your insights have helped Director of Research and Innovation Operations Rachel Brereton and her team develop actionable plans to improve how we support you.  

We are committed to keeping you informed of our progress and look forward to sharing outcomes and their positive impact.  

If you would like to get involved or share related workstreams with the project team, please contact [email protected]  

Interim Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Researcher Academy and Researcher Career Development  

I am delighted to welcome Professor Richard Graham as Interim Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Researcher Academy and Researcher Career Development .  

Richard participated in the Researcher Academy’s Nottingham Researcher Leadership Programme so it’s fantastic to see he is now strategically leading the programme. It’s a great testament to the value of the Researcher Academy.  

Richard brings not only a great energy but also an excellent skill set and invaluable insight and experience thanks to his previous roles – I know he believes deeply in the importance of the experience of our research students and staff receive at Nottingham.  

He will be integral in steering the academic direction for the Researcher Academy, developing and delivering of strategic initiatives in relation to researchers and researcher career development, and in providing institutional leadership in the PGR space.  

Research Academy leadership programmes  

The application deadline for the Nottingham Research Leadership Programme is 28 February.  

The Researcher Academy has also launched a leadership programme for mid-career researchers. Nominations for the Research Leadership Accelerator Programme close on 4 March.  

This programme aims to inspire mid-career researchers and help them to excel in their current roles and prepare for leadership positions. Heads of Schools play a key role in the process by nominating researchers for this programme. If you meet the eligibility criteria and are eager to embark on this transformative journey, reach out to your Head of School to submit a nomination on your behalf.  

Find out more  

Knowledge Exchange and Impact awards  

More than 250 people – including researchers and our industry and civic partners – attended the 2024 Knowledge Exchange and Impact awards .  

It was a fantastic evening celebrating our achievements with colleagues, funders, collaborators and beneficiaries and the impact of our research and KE in Nottingham, the UK and across the world.  

I’m delighted that so many excellent projects, bringing together so many disciplines across the university, were highlighted. Congratulations to everyone involved, in contributing to the shortlisted entries as well as the eventual winners. The awards are also an opportunity to connect with colleagues and celebrate engagement with our partners.  

Director of IP Commercialisation Dr Susan Huxtable and Maxine Lazzari, IP Team Administrator did a wonderful job of organising a memorable evening.  

The evening demonstrated the power of face-to- face networking, with serendipitous interactions both between academic colleagues from different faculties and with external businesses. These interactions have already resulted in new relationships and joint research bids.  

The ceremony was introduced by Professor Shearer West, who presented Dr Vicky Kemp from the School of Law with the Vice Chancellor’s award in honour of a lifetime of achievement.   

The awards honoured all five university faculties, while a “rising stars” category celebrated outstanding younger researchers.  

Full list of winners  

University partnership with ITP Aero receives £1.5 million funding boost  

The University of Nottingham, Manufacturing Technology Centre and ITP Aero have been awarded £1.5m in Government funding to support a three-year Laser Welding research and development project. The three-year project, known as LADDER (Laser Automation and Design Development for future Engine Requirements), will see a total investment of £2.59m, both from ITP Aero itself and the Government’s Innovation Funding Service. This significant milestone reflects a shared commitment to investing in technology across the East Midlands.  

Spin-out raises £7.5m for research into cardiovascular disease  

A university spin-out that is developing a new treatment for patients with cardiovascular disease has raised £7.5m in funding. UK-based biopharmaceutical company IsomAb Ltd was founded in 2022 by Professor David Bates from Nottingham’s Centre for Cancer Sciences and Professor Steve Harper of the University of Bristol.  

And finally – discover a lost Hitchcock movie  

Kieran Foster, Assistant Professor in Film and Screen Studies in the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies, has been working with the Nottingham Contemporary as part of its Life After Dark Film Festival.  

Kieran is curating a live reading by actors of The Blind Man, a script co-written by Alfred Hitchcock, the legendary director of Psycho and other classic suspense movies, that was never made into a film.  

Find out more and book  

With thanks and best wishes  

Professor Tom Rodden Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange  

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Research publication framework launched

July 25th, 2017

A message from Professor Dame Jessica Corner, DBE, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Exchange):

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the launch of the University of Nottingham Publication Framework, the development of which was commissioned by the University’s REF Steering Group. The Framework aims to support your decision making about where to publish, and has a focus on improving the overall quality of the University’s research outputs. For UNUK this includes increasing the proportion of 4* outputs available to submit to the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF2021).

The full Publication Framework, which can be accessed via the Publication Framework Workspace , was produced by colleagues in Research and Innovation (formerly REGS) and LRLR . It identifies the principles which define the University’s approach to publication in order to provide a clear line of sight between institutional strategy around publication, mechanisms for support, and your activity as an individual researcher.

I would particularly recommend you read the  Researcher Guidance . The individual publication checklist should help you to get the most out of your publications and to access relevant help and support. The checklist will be updated regularly to reflect evolving processes and guidance: click ‘Watch’ on the Workspace  page to receive notifications when it is updated.

Roadshows will take place over the coming months to promote the Framework to the widest possible audience, plus supportive activities throughout 2017-18; we also hope to roll out the Framework globally over this timeframe. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to email them to  [email protected] .

There is other work underway related to publications. This includes advice on REF ‘exceptions’ and the up and coming UK Scholarly Communications Licence. More will follow in due course.

Best wishes,

Find out more about support for researchers on the Research Vision Workspace.

Tags: nottingham researchers , REF steering group , research , research and learning , Research Excellence Framework , research publication framework

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Addressing public procurement barriers will empower women-owned businesses in Africa

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Sope williams and sope williams professor and deputy director of the african procurement law unit - stellenbosch university landry signé landry signé senior fellow - global economy and development , africa growth initiative.

August 7, 2024

• The informality of women-owned businesses in Africa is an impediment to business growth and financial access.
• Many African procurement agencies don’t prioritize women-owned businesses, despite gender discrimination existing in most sectors.
• Drafting a legal framework that links gender equality to public procurement and addressing the operational issues are key to increasing women’s participation in the procurement process.
• 20 min read

Public procurement is the system of laws and operational arrangements that allows the public sector, including the government, to purchase goods and services, with the aim to maximize social welfare and do public good. However, many African countries fail to address legal and social impediments women-owned businesses face when trying to participate in procurement activities. Host Landry Signé is joined by Professor Sope Williams to describe these barriers and how to design a procurement system that allows women to participate fully.

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SIGNÉ: Hello, I am Landry Signé, senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program and the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution. Welcome to Foresight Africa podcast, where I engage with contributors to our annual Foresight Africa report, as well as with policymakers, industry leaders, and other key figures. You can learn more about this show and our work at Brookings dot edu slash Foresight Africa podcast.

Today on the podcast I am pleased to welcome Professor Sope Williams. Sope Williams is a professor and the head of the Department of Mercantile Law, as well as the deputy director of the African Procurement Law Unit at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. She specializes in anti-corruption, public procurement, sustainable development, and commercial law, and has authored over 50 publications in these areas.

Welcome to the show, Professor Williams.

WILLIAMS: Thank you very much, Landry. It’s a pleasure to be here today.

SIGNÉ: Sope, can you explain what public procurement is for those who may be unfamiliar?

WILLIAMS: Thank you, Landry. So, public procurement refers to the system of laws, institutions, operational arrangements by which a government or a public sector entity buys the goods, services, and the construction that it requires in order to function and maximize public welfare.

So, anytime the government buys anything, whether you’re talking about paper clips or fighter jets, those types of purchases would go through the public procurement system. So, when we’re talking about procurement, that’s we’re talking about, the process by which the government buys things that it needs to function, to maximize public welfare, to do whatever it needs to do to fulfill its social contract.

SIGNÉ: Fantastic. Can you describe how you became interested in public procurement and anti-corruption law?

WILLIAMS: Yes, yes, I can. It’s it’s quite an interesting story. So, I am from Nigeria, and I am a lawyer. I studied law at the University of Lagos in Nigeria. And then I moved to London to do a master’s in law at the London School of Economics. And after studying in London, I started working as an academic in the University of Stirling in Scotland. I always wanted to be an academic, so that was really just what my focus was.

Anyway, a few years at the University of Stirling, and then I moved to the University of Nottingham. And when I got to the University of Nottingham, of course, I had a master’s degree, but I didn’t have a doctorate degree. And there were discussions on, you know, would I do a doctorate degree and what field of law was I interested in?

And when I got to the University of Nottingham, I had been allocated a lady who was a public procurement law expert as my mentor. So, she started talking to me about public procurement. And it was a new field. Even still now it’s still a nascent academic discipline when it comes to the law, anyway. So, she was talking to me about public procurement.

At the same time my mother in Nigeria, who was still working then, she’s retired now, had just been made the head of what they called then the Division of Joint Services in the Nigerian Ministry of Defense. So, my mom became responsible for procurement contracts in the Ministry of Defense. So, my mentor at work was talking to me about public procurement. My mom at home was engaging in the practice of public procurement. And I just became interested in trying to marry what my mom was talking to me about with what my mentor was saying.

Of course, because my mom was in practice in Nigeria, there were a lot of discussions around corruption and unethical practices. My mentor was talking about you know, the legal frameworks in the European Union and in the UK and all that.

So, I decided that I would do a doctorate that really examined legal frameworks for addressing corruption in public procurement. And that’s how I did a doctorate at the University of Nottingham on public procurement and anti-corruption law.

SIGNÉ: I like the connection between your professional and personal experiences. And thank you for sharing, Sope.

You have been involved in several trainings on anti-corruption and public procurement, including for Nigerian lawmakers in the House of Assembly and investigators from the South African Office of the Public Protector. What examples of changes or outcomes that have happened because of these efforts can you share with us?

WILLIAMS: So, I’ll talk about the training with the office of the Public Protector in South Africa. So, that was a three-year project that ran from 2016 to 2019, where myself and a colleague—we run the African Procurement Law Unit at Stellenbosch University in South Africa—we were essentially hired to train the Office of the Public Protector investigators.

So, the Office of the Public Protector is an ombudsman that investigates a public sector maladministration. And increasingly, they were finding out that a lot of the complaints to this ombudsman dealt with procurement contracts and irregular contract awards and things like that. But the investigators didn’t have any knowledge or experience with public procurement law. So, when they were investigating, they couldn’t really understand what they were looking for. How do they determine whether a contract has really been awarded fraudulently? What are the factors that would indicate this? What are the red flags and things like that?

So, my colleague and I for three years, basically we traveled around South Africa to every province, the nine provinces in South Africa, training I think over 300 of these investigators in public procurement law, training them in anti-corruption law, training them in how to investigate corruption in public procurement, because, again, that’s really a specialist field.

And it was a grueling project, but it was really remarkable in the sense that at the end of those three years, the feedback that we got from these investigators was basically, this has been amazing. You’ve changed the way we do our investigations when it comes to procurement issues. So many things that they didn’t know about the law, about what breaches of the law were. We trained them on this and shared that knowledge with them.

So, there was a lot of changes in their operational behavior in the way that they investigate. And hopefully that would result in better investigations and better outcomes in procurement ultimately. So, that that was a project that I think was really successful.

And even recently the Office of the Public Protector reached out to us again to see, you know, some years have passed, five years have passed, they have obviously a new people in post in some of the places, new investigators, they want us to to commence this training again. So, the fact that there’s been a request for repeats, I think, shows that it was a bit successful. It was quite successful.

In terms of training the Nigerian legislators, that was actually ten years ago now. And what it was, it wasn’t so much training as it was awareness raising on what the role of the legislators were in ensuring accountability in public procurement. So, it was basically, explaining to them what Nigerian law requires of them as lawmakers in relation to the Public Procurement Act.

So, hopefully that was useful, but I can’t say what the changes might have been. But I would hope I would hope that it would, you know, broaden their awareness of what their role and how to fulfill that role for for the benefit of Nigerian citizens.

SIGNÉ: Thank you for your impact, Sope. You have authored several pieces for Brookings on procurement, from your recent piece, “Leveraging behavioral insights to mitigate public procurement corruption in Nigeria” to others, such as “The State of gender-responsive procurement in Nigeria.” Your Foresight piece takes a more zoomed out approach and looks at gender responsive procurement in Africa broadly. You named a few African nations that are addressing the legal and policy impediments preventing woman-owned businesses trying from participating in public procurement. Can you describe some of these policies in greater detail?

WILLIAMS: So, in terms of the policies that actually or the legal issues that prevents women from participating in public procurement in many African countries, I think the first is that many African countries don’t really have preferences or set asides or any way to prefer women in public procurement. And this is important because women-owned businesses, like women in most sectors, are discriminated against.

So, you have unconscious biases, you have conscious biases, more overt discrimination. And what that means is that women who are trying to access procurement contracts, whether or not they qualified, are discriminated against, so they don’t get those contracts.

So, the fact that there’s no legal mechanism in many African countries that actually sets aside or reserves a portion of procurement contracts for women means that women have to fight against these barriers, fight against entrenched interests in procurement, fight against male dominated markets, sectors in procurement in order to access procurement contracts. So, the fact that we don’t have legal requirements that prioritize women is one of the impediments that prevents women from accessing.

In terms of policy impediments there are few, but the ones that are probably have the most impact is the fact that many countries would have frameworks for gender equality, for women’s economic empowerment. But those policies do not contain any requirements for women to be prioritized in public procurement. They don’t contain any requirements to help women access procurement contracts. And a lot of policies that favor SMEs, or SMMEs actually, also have what they think is gender-neutral language. So, again, those policies, many, many of the businesses that are owned by women operate in the small, medium, and micro sectors. But the policies of those sectors don’t have language that supports women-owned businesses.

So, the language is supposed to be gender neutral. But of course, we know that no language is gender neutral. We know that because many policies are developed by men, you know, most public officials in positions of power, policymakers, are men. They develop these policies from a male-oriented lens. And even that language serves as a barrier to, to affect the way that women operate in those sectors.

But for me, the most important things are the fact that there’s an absence of legal frameworks, policies that are supposed to support women don’t actually do that because the language doesn’t take into account the express needs of women, doesn’t take into account the biases and the discrimination that women face. And doesn’t really do anything to support women in terms of the particular challenges that they have.

SIGNÉ: Which countries are outperforming in terms of addressing the challenges that you mentioned?

WILLIAMS: The countries that are performing, that are actually doing a lot of work to try to address these barriers: Kenya, Kenya comes out on top. In Nigeria, we have some states, not at the federal level or at the national level, but at the state level, that are actually outperforming. So, I’ll say Ekiti State is doing a lot of work in trying to address the barriers that women face in accessing procurement contracts. Kaduna State in Nigeria is also doing a lot of work to try to address the barriers that that women face.

So, in both these states that I’ve mentioned they have preferences for women. Ekiti state has in particular tried to ensure that women are included at various points in the procurement process. So, women are included in decision-making, so that decision-making doesn’t just happen from a a male-dominated perspective with all the biases that come with that. So, Kenya is doing is doing great. Nigeria in relation to some states is doing great.

SIGNÉ: Insightful, Sope. You also note that the participation of women-owned business in public procurement is extremely low, at approximately 5% of public contracts. Do you have a sense of what percentage of businesses in Africa are women-owned?

WILLIAMS: So, we have statistics from the World Bank, statistics from the Mastercard Foundation. And on average, women own in most African countries between 35 to 45% of businesses. But, these women-owned businesses, as I’ve said earlier, in the SMMEs sector, so small-,medium-, micro-enterprises, and also a large proportion of them are informal. So, even though women run businesses to a large extent in the economy, the informality is an issue. The size of those businesses is an issue. And the fact that because they’re so small and sometimes because they are informal, it’s difficult to scale those businesses because it’s difficult for them to get access to finance.

There’re other barriers, because in many African countries, still, even in order to get a business loan, you need to have sometimes real estate as a collateral. Many women culturally in some African countries are prevented from owning real estate. If you look at the land registries in many African countries, only a minute proportion of those real estate properties in the land registries are in the names of women. In most cases, land is held in the names of men or maybe jointly in the names of spouses.

So, the size and the informality makes it difficult for these women-owned businesses to scale, to grow. And that also obviously also has implications for how they can navigate procurement itself. Because procurement is is notoriously complex and technical as well.

So, I’d say in terms of the figures, we’re talking about 35 to 45%.

SIGNÉ: Thank you, Sope. one of your recommendations for policymakers is to create synergies between gender equality, public procurement, and women’s economic empowerment frameworks with measurable targets. What would be an example of a policy that accomplishes this, including measurability?

WILLIAMS: Thank you, Landry. That’s a great question. So, what that means, and I alluded to this a little bit already, what that really means is that if we have policies on gender equality, and we have policies on women’s economic empowerment, and we have policies on public procurement, we have to ensure that those policies are speaking to each other.

So, you’ll find that historically, many countries would have policies on gender equality. Right? But those gender equality policies don’t say anything about women accessing procurement. And we also don’t have any targets. So, they might say, we want to have gender equality. It’s important to us. We want women to be able to access economic opportunities. But then that’s it. So, what does that mean? It means it’s actually meaningless because no one can action the very vague and nebulous statements that you have in these gender equality policies.

Now, when you have women’s economic empowerment policies, a lot of them are focused on the private sector making space for women-owned businesses, the private sector removing the barriers to the businesses that are owned by women. And they don’t really have targets that are directed at the public sector. And of course, as I’ve said, they don’t have targets that deal with women being able to access public procurement contracts.

But I mean, public procurement is in many African countries between 20 to 40% of GDP. So, it’s a huge market, but it’s a market that is overwhelmingly dominated by businesses owned by men.

So, a good example is that if a country has a gender equality policy, and Rwanda is actually the only country that I’ve seen in my research that has done this, they have a gender equality policy that that expressly links gender equality to public procurement in the sense of, of course, women accessing procurement contracts at a rate that is fair and that is commensurate with women’s participation in the economy, but also ensuring that public sector, public services rather are designed in a way that takes into account the impact on women.

Because when we talk about gender responsive procurement, it’s not just women-owned businesses getting contracts, which is super important, but it’s also making sure that public services are suitable for users when those users are women. Because again, when things are designed, they’re designed from a male perspective. They don’t always take into account the sometimes-unique needs of women.

So, a policy framework that is designed for women’s economic empowerment should ensure that it has women being able to access public sector opportunities. If you have a policy framework that deals with gender equality, again, gender equality includes equality in terms of public procurement. So, you must have that these policies in different sectors are aligned and are speaking to each other and also have targets that are measurable. So, in some countries they have targets, like, okay, 30% of contracts by value, sometimes by number—although that’s a false measurement—by value should go to businesses owned by women. And they define what a business owned by a woman is. Again, to ensure that there’s no tokenism in terms of the allocation or award of public contracts to women-owned businesses.

SIGNÉ: I like those fabulous ideas. And Sope, would you mind elaborating on some countries, whether in Africa or outside of Africa, which have successfully implemented some of your recommendations?

WILLIAMS: So, I’ll say, in Africa the countries that I’ve worked closely with are South Africa and Nigeria. And South Africa is going through a procurement reform cycle at the moment. So, a new public procurement bill was signed off by Parliament. And during the time when the bill was being debated and the public was allowed to send in public comments, my unit, the African Procurement Law Unit, of which I am the deputy director, we sent in comments dealing with the issue of women’s access to public procurement.

And we found that in the later iteration of the bill, the comments that we had sent in on gender responsive procurement had been taken into account, and the bill had been modified to take those issues into account in terms of defining what a woman-owned businesses is, in terms of ensuring that there are sets of sites for women owned businesses.

So, we saw that change. So, at least that was considered, because in the earlier versions of the bill, it didn’t really speak to to gender in any meaningful way. But now it does.

SIGNÉ: Impactful, Sope. So, I really love it. As you know from previous Foresight Africa podcast episodes, I love finishing this session with a couple of questions for all my guests. AGI looks at Africa from an economic perspective and we focus on how to accelerate economic growth and structural transformation while fostering inclusion, especially for youth and women on the continent. Building on your work and experience, what is one piece of advice you will give to other African or global policymakers to create the best gender responsive procurement policies on the continent?

WILLIAMS: Thank you. Thank you, Landry. That’s a great question. So, if there was one piece of advice—and I just generally wouldn’t stop at one—but if I had to give one piece of advice, what I would say is that if countries are serious about ensuring gender responsive procurement in in Africa, I’ll say that they have to address the legal and the operational issues. So, legal issues I’ve mentioned already: ensuring that the legal framework allows procurement practitioners to prioritize women, obviously still on the basis of merit.

But the operational issues, I think are having more adverse impact on women’s participation in procurement because the operational issues are things like the language that is used in documents, which is not gender neutral, that language is usually not inclusive. It’s usually exclusionary. And as I’ve mentioned already, we have biases that are against women because we live in a patriarchal society. So, I think operationally, taking steps to remove this bias, will go a long way into ensuring that women can actually participate meaningfully in the public procurement sector.

So, I’ll give an example of what this means. Some years ago, I think maybe almost a decade ago or so, the Dominican Republic decided that they wanted to address the disparity in contracts awards to women-owned businesses. And they did a lot of things, they changed the legal framework to allow for preferences and all that. But one thing that they did, which had a huge impact was that they anonymized the bids that were received from companies. So, usually, a bid that is submitted will have the company name. And sometimes company names are gendered. Right? So, already the bias kicks in because if you’re someone who has an unconscious bias, you see a name that is not what you’re familiar with. You would have to find reasons to be able to justify why that company shouldn’t obtain the public contract.

So, anyway, they anonymized bids and almost overnight, businesses owned by women started obtaining public contracts from a base of about 5% by value in Dominican Republic to 29% almost overnight. And that just shows you that this bias was a real thing.

So, I would say that removing the operational barriers, removing the biases that women face in, in relation to gender responsive procurement will go a long way to ensure that women can participate meaningfully in public sector supply chains.

SIGNÉ: Insightful, Professor Williams. Given your successful career and impact, what advice would you give to youth and women hoping to follow in your footsteps?

WILLIAMS: As you said, I’m a professor of law, so I’m an academic, and I’ve been an academic for 24 years. I’ll say to anyone who wants to follow in my footsteps, who wants to go into academia, the advice that I will give to people, especially people of color, women, is be authentic and be excellent. And do excellence your way. I mentioned at the beginning that I’ve worked in universities in the UK, and I’ve worked in Nigeria, and I worked in South Africa. And even in Africa, our universities are still very Eurocentric, and even the production of knowledge is very Eurocentric. And obviously because of colonialism and neocolonialism, we still prioritize Eurocentric ideologies and Eurocentric knowledge over African ideas and African knowledge.

So, I would say to anyone who is in Africa who wants to be an academic, be authentic, be yourself, produce excellent work, but produce work that speaks to who you are as a person, as a woman, and as an African.

SIGNÉ: What a beautiful way to conclude. Thank you so much for joining us on this show today, Professor Williams.

WILLIAMS: Thank you. Landry. It was really good to speak to you.

SIGNÉ: I am Landry Signé, and this has been Foresight Africa . To learn more about this show and our report, visit Brookings dot edu slash Foresight Africa podcast. 

The Foresight Africa podcast is brought to you by the Brookings Podcast Network. Send your feedback and questions to podcasts at Brookings dot edu.

My special thanks to the production team, including Kuwilileni Hauwanga, supervising producer; Fred Dews, producer; Nicole Ntungire and Alexandria Cordero, associate producers; and Steve Cameron, audio engineer. 

This show’s art was designed by Shavanthi Mendis. Additional support for this podcast comes from my colleagues in Brookings Global and the Office of Communications at Brookings.

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Chinasa T. Okolo, Landry Signé

July 24, 2024

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Raymond Gilpin, Daouda Sembene, Landry Signé

July 10, 2024

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