The scheme came into existence a decade ago. Every member of the department is expected to come up with four items - ideally four books if you're a humanist, four better mousetraps if you're a scientist. The lists have to be in by this December. On the basis of the submission, an external panel grades the departments, creating gigantic sets of league tables out of the country's 110 or so universities. These are published next April, when the hair-tearing will begin again.
Grades run on a seven-point scale.
Easy street for the top departments. Hard times, however, for the many losers. More classroom grind. With the RAE, you simply told the universities to slug it out like gladiators. Last one standing was the winner.