Integrating EDI in research

• Prioritize physical and mental health
• Respect and accommodate cultural, religious, family, and other obligations and responsibilities
• Provide a list of available resources (mental health, housing, medical, etc.)
• Commit to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment
• Promote the use of inclusive language
• Encourage participation and feedback from all team members, regardless of their role
• Identify potential barriers for members of underrepresented groups and provide possible solutions (e.g., women who are mothers will probably need childcare options)
• Consider complaints seriously, deal with them quickly, and respect confidentiality
• Appoint EDI champions within your team; encourage team members to participate in EDI-related initiatives in other settings
• Prepare an action plan to address problems and events that affect the marginalized members of your team during a crisis
• Draft an EDI policy and make it public
• Draft and publish a statement to let it be known that harassment, racism, and discrimination will not be tolerated
• Design a secure, confidential procedure for submitting complaints and providing feedback

Composition and recruitment

• Adapt recruitment efforts to reach members of underrepresented groups
• Ensure that communications are accessible
• Consider diversity and intersectionality when selecting team members
• Recognize the value of a diverse range of contributions
• Describe the diversity within your team
• Explain your approach to building a diverse team
• Identify shortcomings and ways to resolve them
• Provide examples of how diversity improves your research
• Establish an assessment grid consistent with EDI principles; incorporate EDI criteria into ranking
• Actively recruit team members who have lived experiences similar to that of the study participants, and provide adequate support and training
• Include an EDI statement and accommodation policies in job postings
• Provide appropriate compensation

Management

• Tailor your supervision style to the needs of each team member
• Advocate for collaboration and cooperation
• Be flexible with respect to scheduling and tasks
• Encourage employees to take leave to meet their obligations and overcome challenges
• Hold regular one-on-one meetings to discuss barriers and challenges

Training

• Coordinate EDI training opportunities (e.g., training that deals with anti-oppression, cultural responsiveness, unconscious bias)
• Share resources to support EDI initiatives and approaches (GBA+, unconscious bias training)

Recruitment

• Adapt recruitment efforts to reach members of underrepresented groups
• Include an EDI statement and accommodation policies in job postings
• Circulate postings in a variety of environments (academic, community, institutional, health services)
• Ensure that communications are accessible
• Leverage available resources and programs (financial or otherwise) to target applicants from diverse backgrounds
• Apply for specific grants in order to provide financial assistance to applicants from underrepresented groups who may be financially vulnerable
• Identify potential barriers (finances, language, training) to the recruitment of diverse students and identify potential solutions

Training

• Provide training for a broad set of skills
• Ensure that all team members have equal access to mentoring opportunities

Instructional approach

• Adopt a student-centered mentorship approach
• Collaborate to create individual development plans (IDP)
• Outline flexible ways to assess progress

Participant recruitment

• Broaden the scope of the research to encompass multiple languages
• Provide adequate compensation

Participant diversity

• Encourage researchers to extend their research to groups with which they identify
• Meaningfully incorporate their insights
• Centre the knowledge of marginalized people

Study design

• Adapt studies to the participants’ needs and skills
• Provide the tools that participants need to easily participate
• Collect EDI data separately from survey data (unless they are related)
• Consult members of diverse populations during the design, data collection, and writing phases of your research
• Gather the perspectives of members of underrepresented groups and integrate them into your planning

Knowledge mobilization

• Provide resources in multiple languages and formats
• Publish in open access forums
• Use plain language
• Hire an accessibility specialist to ensure communication tools and content are accessible