EDICa logo. The UK's research and innovation State of the Sector Survey 2026. All job types in the research and innocation sector - from private to public to third sector. PGRs, admins, lab techs, managers, lecturers, researchers, etc. URL link. Stick figure filling in a survey, clock showing five minutes. QR code. UKRI and British Academy logos. Ends 15 June 2026.

EDICa's running a "State of the Sector" survey for the UK's research and innovation sector.
go.hw.ac.uk/Workplace2026

Anyone who works in research and innovation is eligible, including PGRs.
Museums, small start-up innovation companies, archives, galleries, universities, research institutes.

This is why Research is so vitally important.

#Research #HumanResources #AcademicSky #EDI #DEI

The Impact of Covid on EDI in UK's R&I Ecosystem - EDICa Date: 8th January 2026 - EDICa Report on the impact of Covid on EDI in the UK's research & innovation ecosystem: structural inequality, lived experience and recommendations for change.

Why are we doing this?
EDICa did a survey back in 2023. You can read the report here: edicaucus.ac.uk/covid-qualit...
But time has moved on, and we want to know if things have improved... or not. We ask about conditions in labs, offices, home; relationships w/ managers; access to flex working etc.

EDICa logo. Titled the UK's research and innovation State of the Sector Survey 2026. All job types in the research and innovation sector - from private to public to third sector. PGRs, admins, lab techs, managers, lecturers, researchers, etc. URL link. A stick figure writing on a piece of paper. A clock with 5 minutes indicated. A QR code. Survey ends 15 June 2026. Funded by UKRI and the British Academy.

Call for participants! a quick State of the Sector survey.

Who should respond? ANYONE who works in the UK's research and innovation sector.
Public, private, third sectors. Gov departments like DSIT and DEFRA.
PhD students, admins, techs, lecturers, researchers
go.hw.ac.uk/Workplace2026

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"appropriately protective of demands on her time".

Well-phrased, but this does require others (often men) to appropriately take on more of the needed-but-unrecognised work.

"Artificial intelligence is becoming all pervasive, but there is minimal research on disabled, neurodivergent and Deaf researchers and other professionals in AI."

#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #neurodivergent #Deaf #Disabled #Research

AI Research and Disabled, Neurodivergent and Deaf Researchers and Other Professionals: Experiences and Attitudes Online surveys is a powerful, easy to use tool for creating online surveys. Run by Jisc, online surveys is used by over 300 different organisations in the UK...

Calling disabled, neurodivergent and Deaf researchers, research students and other professionals, working in AI or interested in working in AI.

Survey being run by two disabled researchers.

app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/glasgow/ai...

Screen with link to the toolkit. See post.

C-DICE presented their EDI toolkit which is designed to train researchers on improving their research design and proposals.

www.cdice.ac.uk/online-train...

#EDIConf26

Unfortunately the vibe in conference is that the necessary changes are harder to undertake in the current financial climate. And your correspondent, spending 1/2 day a week on departmental Athena SWAN work is despondent at lack of real changes needed.
Colleagues are striking today.

Slide on screen. Chemistry of York approach. “Our shared belief is that good practice benefits everyone, while bad practice is to the severe detriment of minoritised groups.”

U of York’s Chemistry department sharing what they’ve learned in their Gold Award Athena SWAN initiatives. #EDI2026

“Our shared belief is that good practice benefits everyone, while bad practice is to the severe detriment of minoritised groups.”

Was nice to see EDICa logo in the list of expert participants in co creation. Including @jeminanapier.bsky.social

Screen showing a workshop visual depiction by Nifty Fox.

In @advancehe.bsky.social #EDI2026 conference.
NCRC presentation on Women in Academia report.
Conclusion was that it’s not women not leaning in enough, not a confidence problem, there are structural reasons why there’s a lack of women in upper ranks.

warwick.ac.uk/research/res...

A lot of work towards making the “special” initiatives as part of REC just “business as usual”. It should be embedded, not special.

Conference room Near the front with screen showing De Montford University logo and the title about REC Silver. A black woman sits at the speakers table looking at the slide.

De Montford Uni in Leicester England is first ever institution to achieve Silver level in Race Equality Charter.
Here to learn and be inspired.

Hotel lobby with a pop up stand sign with Advance HE logo. In distance a bunch of boards with posters and people milling.

Conference hall with lots of diverse people in chairs. In distance a slide of EDI conference. Additional Screen to left has subtitles and on right has BSL provision.

Your correspondent has been let out to attend Advance HE’s #EDI2026 conference.

Provocative keynote by VC of Brighton. Should we be quieter about EDI in this financially constrained environment?

"In this session:
• Highlight accessible resources you can find and use
• Explore practical ways to support neurodivergent and disabled colleagues and students
• Discuss the importance of speaking out safely and effectively"

17 March 13:00-14:00 GMT online, free.
Neurodiversity and Disability: Designing Inclusion That Works for Everyone.

from U of East London and Office for Institutional Equity.

events.teams.microsoft.com/event/65a588...

"Can the 4-day week work in higher education?"

U of Sunderland in London shares what they've learned on Thursday 12 March 11:45 online.

events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ed05b0...

Screenshot of a one page cartoon on disabling interview practices. A brown skinned woman gets an interview invitation then faces the panel which is bigger than promised. Her mind keeps focusing on distractions around her. The question is hypothetical and she panics but then someone else rephrases it. Discussion after she leaves is on her social behaviour not qualifications. She gets an email about the internet and leaves you hanging about if she got it.

A one page comic screenshot on living with a hidden condition. A Young white man in informal suit is exhausted, talking to friend on phone as walks in the door thinking back to his tiring day. Had to take train to work as car is in shop. Heads straight to toilet. Recuperates a bit midway thru the day in a quiet space with tea and armchair tipped back. Then work pressures build up. There’s no bin in his toilet for his pad so he has to secretly take it out with him and put in the bin outside the office building. Colleagues go out for drinks but he can’t. Collapses at home. All this time a battery indicator over his head shows how little energy he has and how he drains through the day.

A side project of EDICA’s on disability inclusive careers in engineering and sciences. (DICE)

Our two DICE comics feature in this training which you can also see at this link.

edicaucus.ac.uk/improving-wo...

Academics with Energy Limiting Conditions - EDICa Date: 24th November 2025 - Report from U of Liverpool on academics with energy limiting conditions - what ELCs are, how it impacts academics and how to support academics with an ELC.

From U of Liverpool, a report on academics with energy limiting conditions. Eg cancer treatment, motor neurone conditions, long Covid.

edicaucus.ac.uk/academics-wi...

Making chemistry labs more inclusive & accessible - EDICa Date: November 2025 - Royal Society of Chemistry's Disability-Inclusive Laboratories in the Chemical Sciences report exploring how we can make science workspaces more accessible for everyone.

Royal Society of Chemistry’s report on making chemistry labs more inclusive.

edicaucus.ac.uk/making-chemi...

Reasonable Adjustments - EDICa Date: 1 October 2018 - Produced by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, a practical list of potential reasonable adjustments for various neurodivergent requirements.

A useful library of reasonable adjustments for particular challenges an individual faces. Eg easily distracted or procrastinating; hyperactivity; social interaction / communication; arithmetic; spelling; organisation / planning.

edicaucus.ac.uk/reasonable-a...

This training packs a lot into 90 minutes online, focusing on the underlying principles of co-design, evidence-based interventions, and the social model of disability. There’s a lot of signposting to resources out there for people to tailor to their organisations.

Including… 👇

A conference room with two screens on the wall showing a slide asking questions of what you already know and what you’re hoping to learn. A white woman with dark brown hair wearing jeans and blue button up over white shirt stands listening.

A table covered in leaflets and freebies. Including a cup full of EDICa labelled tampons, anti bacterial gel bottles, and period pads with EDICa logo.

Screenshot of dates of upcoming workshops. 20 March 10-12 with BSL available. 24 March 10-11:30; 20 April 14-15:30; 30 April 10-11:30; 1 May 10-12 BSL only.

Today our first Train the Trainer workshop on improving employment experiences in the research & innovation sector.

Still spots available for our online workshops coming up. Two dates available with #BSL

edicaucus.ac.uk/impact#Train...

Impacts on diversity of the workforce which impacts on quality of workforce.

Folks, on #IWD2026, please be aware that the #GiveToGain slogan and hashtag arise from a private limited company who may have been set up to profit from International Women's Day. The UN set the real theme for IWD, the more ambitious and challenging #RightsJusticeAction. 1/2

An infographic titled “How To Write Alt Text” featuring a photo of a capybara. Parts of alt text are divided by color, including identify who, expression, description, colour, and interesting features. The finished description reads “A capybara looking relaxed in a hot spa. Yellow yuzu fruits are floating in the water, and one is balanced on the top of the capybara’s head.” Credit to Puzzle agency, original information from Veronica With Four Eyes and veroniiiica dot com

I’m glad so many people have found my “capybara method” for how to write alt text and image descriptions helpful! However, I know conflicting access needs exist and not everyone can write their own #AltText, so here’s an ongoing thread of tools that can help. Inclusion in thread ≠ endorsement

Entrance to red brick Victorian building with a metal ramp over the threshold.

A conference room with Lego and handouts on the table and four people with Vr headsets on. An Indian man stands beside a tv screen showing slides.

EDICa team members are in the Royal Geographical Society’s headquarters across from Hyde Park today, running the second workshop on enabling workspaces. Great discussions and shared learning.

Last chance to sign up to our workshop in Kensington, London Thursday 5 March. The EDICa team catch the train to Kings Cross 🚂 tomorrow morning.