NCCPE Statement of Inclusion
The NCCPE is committed to creating welcoming and productive environments for all public engagement professionals (PEPs), researchers, university staff and students, and the publics and communities we are engaging. These are underpinned by mutual respect and dignity for all people.
Inclusion of diverse groups and viewpoints is at the heart of public engagement and is the responsibility of all members of our community. At the same time, we are committed to ensuring that those individuals who are marginalised, made vulnerable or systemically excluded by society, are safe and valued in our work.
We acknowledge that we are part of an inequitable society, and we are committed to challenging this inequity in, through and by the work we do. Inequity in our work manifests as the exclusion of some people from accessing or benefitting from opportunities that are available to others, because of systemic, physical, and psychological barriers that have not yet been addressed. We acknowledge that we contribute to the systems that create and maintain this unequal access, whether that be consciously or not.
Our commitments
Our commitments to challenging inequity in our work include the following:
- We will seek to support our networks to develop inclusive approaches to their engagement work, and provide space, tools and signposting for ways to develop their own learning in this area.
- We will commit resources to addressing inequity in how public engagement with research is funded, enacted, and supported, acknowledging different levels of power and capacity and highlighting where wider institutional and organisational practices are counter to these goals.
- We will embed the principles of open dialogue, reflectivity, and accountability in our work so that we might collaboratively contribute to long term systemic change with others.
- We will support and promote inclusion through our work, including in our training, resources, recruitment and reporting structures, and any funding opportunities we are part of.
- We will continue to develop our resources, ideas, and imaginations to seek equity for those currently disadvantaged by the Higher Education systems we are part of.
We acknowledge that the actions needed will change over time and we are committed to continually learning and developing as an organisation, understanding that social justice is an ongoing priority.
We welcome all members of the public engagement community in supporting us with this work and extend this statement of commitment for your use.
Who are we including?
The Equalities Act (2010) legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. The act focuses on 9 protected characteristics, namely: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, sex, and sexual orientation.
As well as ensuring we are inclusive of these protected characteristics, we acknowledge the diversity of factors which might lead to someone finding themselves excluded. This list is something we will revisit regularly to ensure we keep as relevant as possible.
It currently includes: access to disposable income, access to the internet or digital devices, access to transport, care experience, caring responsibilities, educational achievement, living in rural areas, migration background, neurodiversity, physical size, prison/incarceration experience, regional characteristics including accents, socioeconomic status, variable housing status or homelessness.