OU researcher calls for more inclusivity in research funding calls

An Open University (OU) researcher has produced a report on a pilot scheme which explored the levels of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in research funding calls.

Dr Manuella Blackburn, Senior Lecturer in Music, Film and Media in the OU’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, has produced an evaluative report on the Arts & Humanities Research Council’s EDI Engagement Fellowship (EDIEF) pilot scheme, a funding provision first launched in 2020.

The report made 31 recommendations for optimising the EDI Engagement Fellowship scheme and funding calls more broadly in the future to encourage wider participation and awarding of diverse researchers.

Dr Blackburn and her collaborators, Kevin Coutinho, and Hayley Suviste, found that positive action schemes like the EDI Engagement Fellowship pilot offer one means of mitigating against the continued lack of participation from diverse and underrepresented researchers within funding schemes.

The findings will be discussed at the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Engagement Fellowships event on 15 March 2023, when Dr Blackburn will offer her reflection.

She said:

“Being involved in the AHRC’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Engagement Fellowship pilot scheme and leading on its evaluation report have been important for the exploration of inclusive grant making practices.

“Recommendations seeking to optimise funding schemes have been made to ensure future calls invite, welcome, and enable the full diversity of the researcher community to participate. It's been a pleasure to work in collaboration with the AHRC, the Windsor Fellowship and the EDIEF researchers on building a vision for impact-focused EDI research in the arts and humanities.”

Register for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Engagement Fellowships event