The University of Birmingham has secured £1 million funding from the Wellcome Trust’s Institutional Fund for Research Culture (IFRC) to trial new ways to develop its race-inclusive research culture.
The University will use the grant to fund a programme of research, training and capacity-building. This programme – ASPIRE – will deliver an innovative pilot to enhance how academics and professional services staff understand, enact and embed inclusive research practice and excellence at the University with respect to race. Learnings from the programme will be shared with other higher education institutions and funders.
The award will facilitate collaboration on research culture across and beyond the University. This programme is particularly important in the context of the growing emphasis placed by funders such as the Wellcome Trust and UKRI on research culture and its increasing significance for the Research Excellence Framework.
Programme lead, Professor Etlyn Kenny
ASPIRE has senior sponsorship from Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Tickell, institutional leads for research and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and directors of the Research Strategy and Services and HR divisions. There is a commitment to embed the culture and activities of the programme within institutional frameworks in the longer term.
Professor Catherine Mangan, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for EDI said: “The University has made good progress towards its EDI objectives in recent years, but diversity and inclusion remain significant issues in our research careers and grant pipelines. ASPIRE will explore new approaches to creating a more enabling research environment and culture for under-represented groups.”
Programme lead, Professor Etlyn Kenny said: “The award will facilitate collaboration on research culture across and beyond the University. This programme is particularly important in the context of the growing emphasis placed by funders such as the Wellcome Trust and UKRI on research culture and its increasing significance for the Research Excellence Framework.”
Shomari Lewis-Wilson, Senior Research Manager for Research Culture and Communities at Wellcome said: “Inclusive research environments should enable everyone to thrive, and this is an excellent example of what Wellcome are hoping to support through our IFRC. We look forward to following the progress of the team at University of Birmingham with this programme of research.”
Based on perspectives from across the University, inclusive research excellence is defined as the pursuit of rigorous and innovative research with a diverse environment and a race-inclusive culture that enables everyone involved to achieve their potential.
ASPIRE’s main objectives are:
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Improving understanding of the key inclusion barriers faced by racially minoritised researchers and research-related professional services staff
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Making inclusive research excellence a more visible priority for all research and related staff at the University, and building the engagement and sense of personal accountability required to engender change
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Increasing opportunity for and inclusion of racially minoritised research and related staff, while encouraging learning and innovation in relation to the adoption of more inclusive behaviours and practices among staff at all levels
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Building research and grants leadership capacity to improve representation at senior levels
The Wellcome Trust invited 42 UK institutions to apply for its IFRC scheme, with a funding threshold of £1 million per proposal and an overall investment of £23.3 million. Applicants were asked to articulate their vision to advance a culture that fosters inclusive, equitable, open, engaged, and ethical research.
EDI is central to the mission and vision of the University of Birmingham. On its founding in 1900, the University accepted women and people of all religious backgrounds as equal members of its community and it continues to be committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive learning and working environment. As a part of this commitment to EDI, the University has set up a Centre for Staff Equalities and Wellbeing, which is led by Director, Monique Myers.
