Inhalt: The Equity and inclusivity in research funding project was initiated by Research Services to identify the barriers to securing research funding experienced by researchers in marginalised groups and to propose solutions. The findings and recommendations described in the report are based on examining external funding as well as internal funding and institutional practices, and are therefore intended to be relevant to funders, universities, and other organisations involved in the research ecosystem.
Background A successful career in UK academic research currently depends on several key elements, including securing a post, publishing research, and securing research funding. These elements are interdependent, with success in one facilitating success in another. A growing body of data has exposed inequalities in the research funding awarded to different groups of researchers: women, racially minoritised, and/or disabled researchers
1, and, despite more limited data, researchers who are LGBTQIA+
2. For example, the success rate for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic applicants to Wellcome Trust is 6% lower than that for White applicants
3, with UKRI data showing that aggregated ethnicity data masks deeper problems for researchers racialised to certain ethnic groups (particularly Black applicants)
4.
For UKRI, the success rate by value for disabled applicants is 7% lower than that for non-disabled applicants
5. This study explores the barriers to securing research funding that these groups experience, and proposes practical actions for change. The findings and recommendations are based on a detailed analysis of a sample of UK funding schemes, a review of international literature on equality and business practice, supported by sector-wide discussions with colleagues with expertise in EDI, and focus groups and interviews with individuals from the target groups within the University of Oxford. Achieving an equitable and inclusive funding system requires coordination across all parts of the sector, including universities, academic departments, funders, academic societies, academic publishers, and individuals. Although some inputs of the study are domain-specific or career-specific, the recommendations represent good practice that can be applied to organisations globally.
1.2 Findings Researchers in marginalised groups face systemic barriers to securing research funding that are created and controlled by funders and universities. The following specific barriers were identified:
Barriers to access, including inaccessibility of documentation and systems, and requirements (eg around deadlines and eligibility) that exclude researchers in marginalised groups;
Disparities in the availability of information, eg about opportunities and selection criteria, due to conversations being held in closed groups, access to which is typically based on existing relationships;
Vulnerability to bias of both schemes and decision-making;
Failure to account for structural inequality in decision-making;
Assessment against a career trajectory and characteristics unrelated to research quality;
The scale, importance, and low availability of support at all stages of the funding cycle;
Limited understanding of EDI issues by decision- makers; and
Increased burdens on researchers in marginalised groups.
Researchers experience these themes as cycles of inequality, both within the research funding system and more widely in the research ecosystem, leading to ever-increasing impacts on individual careers, and contributing to the lack of diversity evident at senior levels of academia.
1.3 Recommendations The systemic nature of the lack of equity requires a systematic, coordinated approach from universities and funders, and the support and engagement of individual participants in the system. The recommendations in this report are intended as a prompt to enable universities, funders, and other organisations to reflect on how they may redress disparities and improve equity. Stakeholder feedback has highlighted the importance of review and accountability, and, critically, of co-production with researchers in marginalised groups. Recommendations are summarised in the table below, and stratified into those that may be readily implemented, those that require targeted effort, and those that may require higher levels of effort, providing opportunity for sector-wide collaboration. Many universities operate internal funding schemes, and the recommendations for funders apply equally to these schemes as to external funders.
1.4 Conclusion Change will take time and commitment from all organisations, but should deliver a more equitable and inclusive research funding system, as exhibited in a vignette in section 7. The authors’ hope is that this study will prompt senior managers at relevant org
anisations to examine their policies and processes and commit to collaborative actions appropriate for their context and transparent accountability for progress.
Schlagwörter:barriers; bias; Diversity; equity; ethnic minority; Forschungsförderung; inclusion; inequality; LGBTQ+; research funding; UK
CEWS Kategorie:Diversity, Wissenschaft als Beruf
Dokumenttyp:Graue Literatur, Bericht