The Academy is delighted to have received further funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC, UK Research and Innovation) to support fostering inclusivity in the social sciences community, as a second phase of the Academy’s work on equality, diversity and inclusion.
The joint programme of work between the Academy, its member social science societies and ESRC aims to encourage and facilitate greater action to support inclusivity across member social science societies and their higher education communities. We do this by working together to share resources, learning and to maximise the potential to innovate and effect real and positive change. The many outputs from the programme to date, include a summary EDI data report for higher education academic staff and student populations in the social sciences, a website hub featuring over 100 freely accessible resources sharing good practice in this space, 14 knowledge sharing events and 13 inclusivity initiatives funded through a small grants programme.
The new programme builds on the outcomes of the first and will focus on fostering inclusivity in research, training and innovation, and encourage collaboration both within, but also beyond, social science societies and their communities. This will be achieved through continued development of the Academy’s freely available EDI Hub and events programme, and in addition it will create an archive of ‘what works’ good practice and lessons learned from a wide range of inclusivity initiatives in recent years relating to social science in UK higher education. We will also extend the reach of the archive to humanities and STEM subjects to foster meaningful cross disciplinary dialogue and knowledge sharing.
The project will continue its highly successful small grants programme, which will have a strong focus on research, training and innovation and will encourage collaboration between social science learned societies to facilitate inclusivity in their higher education communities. Phase two will also see the continuation of inclusivity data monitoring and reporting to deepen our understanding of where changes have occurred for the social sciences higher education staff and student communities, and to pinpoint areas that continue to require attention.
Dr Rita Gardner, Chief Executive of the Academy, said, “We are delighted to receive further funding from the ESRC to continue this important and impactful work. Ensuring a diverse and inclusive pipeline of social scientists remains fundamental to the Academy’s 2024-2029 strategic objectives and knowing ‘what works’ in good practice and the lessons learned will further this work. Fostering inclusivity is important at all levels from widening opportunity in the transitions from school to university and within higher education, to enriching teaching and learning, and in enhancing research and innovation.”
Stian Westlake, Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), said “Issues of diversity and inclusion vary across disciplines. We’ve found that working with learned societies and disciplinary communities is an effective way to address these issues, and are delighted to be continuing our partnership with the Academy of Social Sciences to take this forward, and promote equality of opportunity across the social sciences.”