The Foundation is sponsoring the Society of Black Academics annual conference
As part of our commitment to racial equity and inclusion in the higher education and research community, we’re proud to sponsor the Society of Black Academics (SBA) annual conference, held today.
The SBA works to increase the number of Black academics in professorial and senior leadership roles in UK universities. It’s a goal that closely aligns with the Foundation’s priorities of building an inclusive and fair society where people are secure, can fulfil their potential, and feel they belong.
It also lines up alongside the Foundation’s long history of funding research that generates evidence in response to society’s most pressing questions, including on issues of racial inequality and discrimination, and pathways to racial justice. We do this through our Strategic Fund, main grants programme, and the Racial Diversity UK fund (RDUK), which was launched in 2024.
Liz Gilfillan, programme head for RDUK, is speaking at the conference on the subject of ‘research with impact.’
The Foundation’s sponsorship of the Society of Black Academics conference is part of our aim to collaborate with a broader and more diverse range of partners and take action that contributes to a more inclusive future for the UK’s research sector.Liz Gilfillan
Sponsoring the conference also builds on the commitments outlined in our recently published Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) action plan, which sets out our approach to embedding EDI across all areas of our work, from funding decisions to partnerships and our internal culture.
Mark Franks, Director of Welfare, and chair of our EDI committee, said: “We want to embed equity, diversity, and inclusion into all that we do as a Foundation and to encourage and support positive change in the wider research sector. Our EDI action plan sets out the measurable actions we’re taking to drive meaningful progress. The plan is backed by senior leaders in the Foundation who are accountable for delivering long-term, sustainable change across all our activities, the people and organisations we work with and fund, and in our role as an employer.”
