Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Caucus (EDICa) Flexible Fund

Funding for research that addresses inequalities within the research and innovation sector in order to advance knowledge on the lived experience of marginalised researchers and develop interventions to create meaningful change.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Caucus (EDICa) is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the British Academy and seeks to create inclusive research cultures to enable diverse researchers to access and thrive in careers across research and innovation systems, thereby removing barriers to full participation experienced by women, disabled, LGBTQI and racially minoritised researchers, and researchers with caring responsibilities.

EDICa’s Flexible Fund wishes to fund research that addresses the inequalities that exist within research and innovation. These impact-orientated projects will:

• Advance knowledge on the lived experience of marginalised researchers.
• Pilot and evaluate interventions to create meaningful change across the research and innovation ecosystem in the UK and internationally.

The Flexible Fund will be broken down across three rounds (one round per year from 2023 to 2025), with each year focusing on one of EDICa’s three thematic streams of work:

• Workstream 1: The career-life cycle
• Workstream 2: The research process
• Workstream 3: The organisation of work

All proposals will be considered, however, priority will be given to research projects that focus on mitigating the effects of COVID-19 and public health measures on inequalities across research and innovation careers (eg projects may include, but are not limited to, long COVID, menstrual health and the career implications of COVID-19/lockdowns).

EDICa will take a balanced portfolio approach. Applications will be reviewed based on the eligibility and assessment criteria, but a balance of projects that respond to the issues highlighted within the wider theme of COVID-19 and inequalities across research and innovation careers will also be looked for. A balanced portfolio will ensure representation of research and innovation sectors.

The EDICa team will support potential applicants with excellent ideas but who are experiencing barriers to accessing or using specific approaches (eg EDICa could offer co-design resources or facilitate access to stakeholders and collaborators). This support will be offered before application submission only.

Successful applicants will be required to produce an accessible final report, present a seminar, create a blog article and/or reflective piece, and create a dissemination plan.