The Academy has published a short report highlighting the outputs from our joint EDI Project in partnership with our member societies and the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
In 2022 the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) and ESRC entered into a strategic partnership to advance Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the social sciences. The initial three-year programme (2022-2025) was unique in that it addressed inequalities and inclusivity at the discipline level through the Academy’s extensive member social science societies network which includes all the main social science disciplines and many of the sub-disciplinary areas.
The purpose of the programme was to build capacity for leadership in EDI among the societies in the social sciences, and to advance their work in understanding and enhancing inclusivity initiatives in their own activities and more widely across their discipline communities in higher education.
This new report showcases the many outputs from this programme to date, which include a summary 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. It also highlights how the Academy’s member social science societies have engaged with the project and the benefits it has provided to them in supporting their inclusivity ambitions and learning from each other.
Dr Rita Gardner, Chief Executive of the Academy, said, “We are delighted that this deeply collaborative project has achieved so much in supporting our member social science societies in progressing their inclusivity ambitions in such a short space of time. The volume of outputs and outcomes of the project to date are testament to the hard work, engagement and ambition of all those involved. The Academy hopes to build on the strong platform this partnership has developed to continue to promote inclusivity and to address structural inequalities and remove barriers for those working in and studying the social sciences in higher education.”
Find out more and read the full report
The Project aims to encourage and facilitate greater awareness of, and actions to support, inclusivity across social science learned societies in the wider community. For more information about the project, explore our EDI Hub.