Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research
The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is committed to supporting and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), recognising that delivering world-class research requires diversity of research staff, patients and research participants. Our support for EDI, which is aligned with the NIHR’s EDI objectives, will include actions across all 15 of our research themes and our enabling hubs, and will involve staff at all levels, from senior leaders to more junior staff.
Oxford BRC EDI Strategy
This strategy sets out our six core EDI objectives, which have been informed by consultation with our BRC themes and key stakeholders. We aim to review the strategy regularly and take corrective action where required.
“I am delighted to endorse our BRC’s first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. It sets out our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and our six core EDI objectives. Equality, diversity and inclusion are strongly associated with both academic and organisational excellence and this strategy underpins our efforts to produce world class research for patient benefit. A collaborative, partnership approach will be used to ensure that EDI is considered a core value across the whole BRC.”
Appointed an EDI Manager, who will work with partner organisations
Awarded £100,000 to support 10 EDI-related projects, and funded an Inclusive Leadership training programme
All themes have nominated an EDI lead who will support activities
Established an Oxford NIHR Infrastructure EDI working group to enhance collaboration
Delivered training for researchers on how to increase ethnic diversity in research
EDI activities at the Oxford BRC
We adhere to and support equality charters, including the Athena SWAN Charter and Race Equality Charter. The University of Oxford was awarded an institutional silver award in February 2023. All of the departments in the Medical Sciences Division, where most BRC researchers are based, have at least a silver award, with the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences being awarded a Gold award in March 2023. As the BRC is a partnership and does not employ staff directly, our EDI activities take into account the strategies and action plans of our two partner organisations, Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) and the University of Oxford, and aims to add value rather than duplicate activities.
The Oxford and Oxford Health BRCs have set up a patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) group, the Diversity in Research Group, which aims to make involvement in health research more engaging to diverse communities. As well as members from minority ethnic communities, this group also includes younger adults and people from the LGBT+ communities, groups that are currently under-represented in PPIE work. Find out more about the group and its members.
Diversity in Research Group
Gender equity research
Researchers in the Oxford BRC’s core management team have conducted a number of studies around gender equity in research. They found, for example, that linking research funding to Athena SWAN action plans was associated with a rise in the number of women in mid-level leadership positions and the proportion of funding going to women. They have conducted research into the proportion of women authoring the BRC’s scientific papers, and developed a tool to rank and identify new gender equity markers specific to NIHR BRCs. Their research has also stressed the need to take into account context when assessing markers of achievement for monitoring gender equity in BRCs.
