Can the REF really address the research environment crisis?

A good and even-handed piece. I am not convinced that reducing the proportion of REF for outputs is a good idea. I do think research culture / environment could be useful especially if it is linked to a template. The narrative environment statements seemed rather 'soft' and allowed some places with bad research cultures to nevertheless get good scores. However, I worry like many in the article about the level of bureaucracy, and outward facing performativity to 'demonstrate' good research culture/ environment (as defined by REF) which will not always reflect the reality of working in institutions or departments.

It is rather peculiar to expect there to be a strong research culture in UK institutions, if the whole system has been built around creating a market for academics and rewarding of individual performance through promotions and financial incentives. I hold positions in departments in both the UK and continental Europe, and in the latter there is no need to discuss how to build a research culture because it is already present. In the UK there is forever talk about "how can we build a stronger research culture" but little action due to these parameters (people moving around to shop for better jobs and being rewarded for individual performance).

The elephant in the room is how academics who treat students badly are often rewarded with non student facing roles. They are then able to focus more on their pet research subjects. End result- they contribute to higher workloads for those staff who treat students well (students run to them for help), but in so doing create a toxic REF environment at the university in which only they thrive and progress to professorship.

If you want to understand the research environment at an institution, why not survey the staff and require that as one of the submissions? Almost all institutions do this already so this shouldn't be any additional burden. However, surveys should be standardised and delivered across all the UK universities just like the NSS. These scores should then be made public just as in the case of NSS. This would be the National Academic Staff Survey (NASS), or even better The NURSS National University Research Staff Survey so that non-academic (professional services ) staff who are also part of the research environment can participate.