One of the classic wheeler-dealers in the world of higher education policy, David Sweeney has been a major player in most policy questions over the last few years. Most importantly, he has led research policy for HEFCE and was the pioneer of the impact agenda for the Research Excellence Framework – but that’s merely the tip of the iceberg as this consummate operator has had fingers in a lot of pies.
Often called a ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’, his transition from university leadership to civil service delivery and policy appeared seamless and he has always been able to defend the REF in most robust terms against its critics. Sweeney falls some places this year thanks to the Brexit/new government squeeze, and the fact that his team at HEFCE is about to be packed off to UKRI. However, how he manages the transition of the REF to the new research funding structure, and exactly how he will land at UKRI will be watched with interest by many.