Original project: neuronal mechanisms for extracting communication signals and signalling sequences – from animal models to humans

Progress in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) requires active engagement from senior research leaders. While many leaders support EDI, few are visible champions.

We will develop a Research Leaders EDI Development Programme and Toolkit for senior researchers to empower them to lead on EDI issues. We will begin with a survey to identify successes and challenges that senior researchers face and then create a tailored programme covering identified training and development needs. We will evaluate its effectiveness and create a Research Leaders EDI Toolkit for Newcastle University which can be used as a blueprint for other research institutions. We will disseminate findings to other universities to help improve EDI leadership across the sector.

This programme will enable our senior research leaders to successfully lead on EDI issues. It will improve local policies and research cultures for all and could help diversify scientific teams and empower research leaders across the sector.