Summer has arrived. While most classrooms are quiet, this is grant writing season for many researchers. For over five years, NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR and others have been assessing the integration of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles into research as part of efforts to “foster a more equitable, diverse and inclusive research ecosystem in Canada”. The principles of EDI have not changed but the context has. Many researchers have completed foundational EDI training and may be looking for what’s next.
Here are some tips for researchers ready to take the next steps toward creating EDI action plans. First, EDI action planning is about identifying and committing to specific actions. If you’re already implementing some best practices, perhaps there’s an opportunity to assess the gaps that remain and identify new actions.
Communicating your efforts clearly is also a critical aspect of EDI action planning and grant writing.
For example, with regard to student training, demonstrate that you understand some of the barriers faced by trainees from under-represented groups in your discipline and detail what specific actions you will take to help mitigate these barriers.
Examples of barriers:
· Challenging adjustments to a new country, language, and culture when no supports are available
· Having to manage care responsibilities toward family and/or community while also training when accommodations are not available and delays discouraged
· Facing discrimination, harassment, exclusion and/or isolation with no conflict resolution or allyship support
· Facing mental health challenges without support
· Rigid teaching approaches and requirements that cannot be adapted for a range of abilities
Examples of actions:
· Offer regular one-on-one meetings, ask about trainee experiences of barriers, and respond accordingly
· Ensure equitable access to appropriate opportunities for conferences, co-authorship, and special training or travel
· Update yourself annually and share information with students about what supports are available on campus including mentoring programs, counselling, and student affinity groups
· Create a set of shared values with your team and develop a clear conflict resolution protocol
· As part of their professional development, ask your trainees to develop their own EDI in research competency and then ask them to contribute to EDI action planning for your research program
Recommended approach: Complete the new IEDI in Research self-directed training now available on CourseLink and ask your trainees to do the same. Completion certificates are available to confirm their professional development efforts, then have a group discussion about what was learned and what to do about it. Use the ideas generated to build your EDI action plan.
For more information about this article or concrete measures to strengthen inclusion and equity in your lab or research program, please contact Joanne Garcia-Moores, jmoores@uoguelph.ca.
