The University embarked upon a policy of research selectivity in 1993 funded partially by Northern Ireland Development Funds (NIDevR) administered via the Northern Ireland Higher Education Council. The policy resulted in greatly improved performance by the University in subsequent Research Assessment Exercises (1996, 2001 and 2008; 3 subject areas, biomedical sciences, nursing and Celtic studies were ranked in the top 5 in the UK in the latter exercise) and in improving its publication output, external research funding and knowledge transfer activities. The establishment in 2002-3 of a number of research institutes in areas of established strength and the receipt of over £40 million through the Support Programme for University Research (SPUR), funded jointly by Atlantic Philanthropies and the Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), yielded a further significant enhancement in the University's research performance.