What Is the Research Assessment Exercise?

The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is Hong Kong's primary mechanism for evaluating the research quality of University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions. Conducted periodically by the UGC, the RAE assesses the research outputs, environment, and impact of academic units across Hong Kong's publicly funded universities.

The results of the RAE directly influence the allocation of block research grants — making it one of the most consequential processes in Hong Kong's academic landscape. For individual academics, RAE performance is closely tied to institutional prestige, departmental resources, and, indirectly, to promotion and tenure decisions.

How the RAE Evaluates Research Outputs

Under the RAE framework, each academic unit submits a selection of research outputs for evaluation by international expert panels. Outputs are assigned quality ratings on a scale reflecting international excellence. Journal articles, books, book chapters, and other forms of scholarly output may all be submitted.

Importantly, the RAE does not prescribe a list of approved journals. Assessment panels evaluate the intrinsic quality of submitted outputs rather than mechanically applying journal impact factors or rankings. In principle, this means a genuinely excellent piece of work published in a newer or lower-ranked journal can score well — while a mediocre paper in a high-impact journal may not.

In practice, however, the reputation and indexing status of the outlet in which research is published remains a relevant contextual signal for assessors. Publishing in well-regarded, peer-reviewed journals continues to be the norm for outputs submitted to the RAE.

Why Publishing Integrity Matters for the RAE

Any output published in a journal that lacks genuine peer review — including predatory journals — risks immediate credibility loss during RAE assessment. Expert panels include international scholars who are familiar with the publishing landscape in their fields and are likely to recognise low-quality or suspect outlets.

Submitting a paper from a predatory journal as an RAE output could not only fail to contribute positively to your unit's score but could also raise questions about your research practices more broadly.

Open Access and the RAE

The UGC has been moving towards encouraging open-access dissemination of publicly funded research. While mandatory OA requirements have not yet been applied as strictly in Hong Kong as they have been in some European funding systems, the global trajectory is clear. Researchers who establish OA publishing habits now will be well-positioned as requirements evolve.

Depositing accepted manuscripts in your institution's repository is a low-cost, low-risk way to increase accessibility of your research without compromising on journal quality or incurring APC costs.

Practical Implications for Your Publishing Strategy

  • Quality over quantity: The RAE selects a limited number of outputs per academic for submission. A smaller number of genuinely strong publications in credible, peer-reviewed journals is more valuable than a long list of papers in questionable outlets.
  • Verify every journal: Before submitting a manuscript, confirm the journal is indexed in Scopus or Web of Science and is not flagged on any predatory journal lists. This protects both your individual submission and your unit's RAE profile.
  • Keep records of peer review: Document the review process for your publications — correspondence with editors, reviewer reports received, revision histories. This documentation can be valuable if the quality of a publication is ever questioned.
  • Diversify output types thoughtfully: While journal articles dominate in STEM fields, book-length outputs are highly valued in humanities and some social science disciplines. Align your output strategy with the norms of your field's RAE sub-panel.
  • Engage with your research office: Most UGC-funded institutions have dedicated research offices that monitor RAE guidance and can provide institution-specific advice on publication strategy.

Looking Ahead

Hong Kong's research environment continues to evolve, with increasing emphasis on international collaboration, knowledge transfer, and societal impact alongside traditional publication metrics. Staying informed about RAE developments — including any consultations on future exercise design — is an important part of managing your research career strategically.

Ultimately, the values that the RAE is designed to reward — rigorous methodology, significant findings, and legitimate peer-reviewed dissemination — are the same values that define good scholarship. Aligning your publishing practices with those values is both the ethical and the strategically sound approach.