Research Services have made progress in implementing the recommendations from Oxford's Equity and Inclusivity in Research Funding report, which was published in 2023.
Following the development of the Research and Innovation Committee-approved Equity and Inclusivity in Research Funding Action Plan, a working group was set up with membership drawn from across the four academic divisions and the University Administration and Services (UAS), including people with expertise in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), IT, HR and funding scheme management. The group is progressing actions in the plan including collating details of various funding schemes across the University for EDI review, reviewing and improving data around funding applicants, developing tools for equity in research funding, and strengthening EDI leadership.
Working with over 30 UK Universities, a sector-wide forum has also been set up and its members have signed up to a joint statement which outlines the priorities that they will work on together. Task groups led, among others, by Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford, and King’s College London, are in place and have started working on the priorities around demand management, positive action, and mapping funding support. A summary of outputs from the sector event in February was published in June. A reflection of the process was published in Wonkhe in July.
The task groups met throughout the summer and the first inaugural meeting for the forum is planned in the autumn.
For more information on this project, please contact Thandie on Thandiwe.hara-msulira@admin.ox.ac.uk.
