Institutional Statement

Heads of Institution are required to provide a statement explaining whether or not they support an employee’s application and the reasons for their decision. This statement should:

  • represent the view of the Institution and should comment on the strength of the case for progression in terms of the respective Assessment Criteria. The statement should: 
  • represent the view of the Institution and should comment on the strength of the case for progression in terms of the respective Assessment Criteria;
  • include evidence of excellence with respect to these criteria, and the quality of the applicant’s contribution across the criteria since their last band change/ increment;
  • refer to the Assessment Criteria and Indicators of Excellence;
  • comment on the applicant’s overall role and contribution to the academic enterprise and their standing in relation to other academic/research employees in the Institution and provide contextual information on the applicant’s achievement over and above what would normally be expected of someone in their current role; 
  •  provide a comparison of the applicant’s teaching hours to the institution’s average where  possible.
  • include comments on the quality of the applicant’s teaching from the Institution’s academic lead for teaching if appropriate; and
  • refer to any student feedback included in the application, where applicable.

It may be necessary for the Head of Institution to consult with the Head(s) of other Institutions if the employee’s duties involve a regular and substantial contribution to the teaching or research programme of other Institutions.

The Head of Institution may delegate the preparation of the statement to another senior academic officer, who should be consulted to ensure they are able to prepare the statement. Where this is done, the Head of Institution should confirm that the statement represents the view of the Institution.

Contextual Factors

Where an applicant has provided details of Contextual Factors, these should be taken into account in the statement and when evaluating their contribution, detailing the impact this has had on their ability to carry out their duties. 

Staff Review and Development (SRD) scheme

Heads of Institutions are expected to undertake annual SRDs with employees as part of the scheme, and it is recommended that the SRD undertaken in the last 12 months is used to support an individual’s application.  Heads of Institution should indicate, where possible, when the most recent SRD with an applicant took place in the statement.

Dispensation from teaching

For applicants on the R&T pathway, if their duties do not include teaching, or they have been formally dispensed from discharging teaching duties on a temporary basis, this should have been made clear in their application, giving the reasons and dates. The Head of Institution should confirm that an applicant is not required to carry out teaching, and that this can be evidenced through a formal agreement between the employee and their Institution that removes this requirement temporarily from their role. 

The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)

Institutional statements must adhere to the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), of which the University is a signatory. The assessment of an application, and therefore the Institutional statement, must not make any reference to “high impact”, “high quality”, “influential”, “high ranking”, “top tier” or “Q1 (1st quartile)” journals, or use any other such language that suggests a journal, publisher or other dissemination outlet is superior. Assessment must be made on the quality and impact of the research itself, and not on where it has been published, or the quantity of outputs.

Disclosure of the statement

The Institutional statement forms part of an employee’s application documentation. As part of the feedback process, the statement will be disclosed to the applicant on request.