In March this year, we published the report from Douglas Oloyede consultants, which was Phase 2 of the planned review of the REC, adding substantially to the evidence base informing the future development of the Charter.
The dissemination event, 4 May 2021, is an opportunity for the sector to learn more about the enhancement and growth of the REC. We welcome the review’s findings and recommendations and look forward to sharing the insights across the sector.
Douglas Oloyede researchers explored the experiences of award-holders, applicants, and REC signatories. The findings from the interviews and survey work show:
- consensus that the Charter’s self-assessment approach provides a structure and robust evidence base to guide an institution’s race equality work
- recognition by participants that the data requirements, though extensive, are needed for enabling identification of the racial inequalities to be addressed
- the REC Survey – a mandatory part of a REC application – was found to be useful by the majority of respondents, especially in relation to enabling identification of actions and interventions for their action plan.
Phase 1 of the review was led by Dr Nicola Rollock who interrogated REC submissions to ascertain what was working and what can be improved.
Dr Arun Verma, said, “The dissemination event is a real opportunity for our members to engage with both reviews of the Race Equality Charter (REC). This event comes at a critical time in the future development, agility and growth of the REC across the sector. We look forward to welcoming members from across the sector to reflect and engage with the findings”
Read the Phase 2 report: Race Equality Charter Review Phase 2
Dr Arun Verma has recently been appointed the Head of the Race Equality Charter at Advance HE. He completed his PhD exploring students’ workplace experiences, retention and success through the lens of intersectionality. After academia, he went onto work in government where he embedded intersectionality and anti-racist practice in the re-design of an entire domestic abuse and mental health system, which led to more inclusive commissioning programmes. During his time in the aid sector, he led the integration of intersectionality in national and global programmes, and is co-editing the book “Racism in the aid sector: an intersectional analysis”. He has led intersectionality and anti-racist consultancy across higher education, and through his ethos of collective action is editing the book titled “Anti-racism in higher education: an action guide for change” in partnership with staff and students.