Inclusive Research & Education Practices (IREP)
When research and education is inclusive, it becomes more useful, fair and trustworthy. If people and communities are excluded from research or education, important perspectives can be missed. This can lead to unequal opportunities and results, and inequalities risk being reinforced rather than challenged.
Research funders and education regulators now expect clear and practical approaches to ensure research and education are fair, diverse and inclusive. The IREP project is addressing this challenge. IREP supports researchers and educators to develop a culture of inclusion.
The project has three connected strands of work
- Understanding and improving diversity, progression, and award outcomes across the research and education workforce.
- Creating practical online guidance to support inclusive research design and delivery.
- Building sustainable community partnerships through a patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) network and hub.
Together, these activities help researchers and educators embed inclusive practice in their everyday work.
Aims
The IREP project aims to make research and education more inclusive. This will help to ensure research education activities reflect and serve diverse communities in the UK and internationally.
Our aims
- Increase the diversity of researchers
- Increase the diversity of research participants
- Increase the diversity of patient and public involvemen and engagement (PPIE) members
How we will achieve this
- Developing evidence-based recommendations and initiatives to address barriers to career progression and differences in award outcomes for underrepresented staff and students.
- Developing practical resources to support inclusive research practices, teaching, and assessment.
- Building sustainable partnerships with community organisations that work for everyone involved.
PPIE co-leads, Collette Bostwick and Leonie Lawson, explain how their lived experience and expertise can improve inclusive research and education.
Principal Investigator
Vice Dean (Research & Impact) and Head of Division, Methodologies
Investigators
Senior Lecturer
Research Associate & Public Involvement Coordinator, Cicely Saunders Institute
Associate Dean (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) and Senior Lecturer in Nursing Education
Affiliations
Project websites
Funding
Funding Body: Research England
Amount: 209,163
Period: November 2023 - July 2026