Thread by @ErikaLoggin

Today’s People and Culture Strategy from @beisgovuk goes a long way in acknowledging that diversity and inclusion are critical for research to thrive. These actions are a good start on the long journey towards building a better #ResearchCulture. Here are some highlights 🧵

BEIS acknowledge the low representation of Black and disabled researchers receiving UKRI funding. Alongside their work on research culture, BEIS say “further analysis and action will also be needed to address the specific issues facing people with different characteristics” (2/9)

It's disappointing that there isn't more tangible early action to address this lack of diversity. But I hope anti-racism and anti-ableism will be built into the initiatives already planned, like the Young Academy and Good Practice Exchange (more info on this below!) (3/9)

There’s a big focus on early career researchers & enabling more people to get into research, including:

🟡 A review of youth engagement
🟡 A New Deal for post-grad research students w/ @UKRI_News
🟡 Cross-sector training to promote movement between academia, industry etc (4/9)

People also need to feel supported to stay in research - or change career paths. We welcome BEIS’s focus on precarity & short-term contracts to “make sure careers are rewarding and offer long-term prospects for people at every stage of their careers and lives” (5/9)

This includes tackling bullying and harassment, which especially affect minoritized groups. BEIS will launch a Good Practice Exchange to “enable the sector to better design, implement and evaluate interventions” to address bullying and harassment and other EDI issues (6/9)

Looking overseas, BEIS will work w/other funders to design a joined-up talent offer open to people “across all career stages, connecting sectors, disciplines and working cultures.” This is great - and should be part of the work we do for folks facing barriers in the UK too (7/9)

These first steps are good but won’t be enough to increase the diversity of people getting public research funding. Anti-ableism and anti-racism must be central to delivering an R&D sector and #ResearchCulture where everyone can thrive (8/9)

ICYMI catch up on some great conversations on what this might look like from @wellcometrust's #ReimagineResearch Culture Festival - and check out threads from @diegobaptista, @martinrsmith and @Beth_Thompson for more info! wellcome.org/what-we-do/our…… Thanks for reading! (9/9)

And here's a link to the full P&C Strategy (please read with an ice cream cone in hand and/or in a swimming pool if you're in the UK right now) ☀️ gov.uk/government/pub…