5 May 2023
UKSG is committed to representing all members of our community, and in effectively reaching out to under-represented groups.
We are working with an experienced equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) consultant, Hannah Kibirige, to run an EDI audit assessing our current practices, processes and culture and to help us to develop an EDI vision and action plan for the future. We would like to invite our community to contribute to this work.
Online focus groups
The audit will include a set of focus groups to hear from a range of UKSG stakeholders. Hearing from and understanding the perspectives of people with lived experience of marginalisation will be key to our approach to EDI, and will enable us to identify and deliver meaningful changes within the organisation. For that reason, while the focus groups are open to all, we are particularly keen to hear from people from marginalised backgrounds or communities that are under-represented in our sector. This includes but is not limited to people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people from minoritised faiths, LGBTQ+ people, disabled and neurodiverse people, and people who have experienced socio-economic exclusion or disadvantage. The audit findings will be presented in a report, along with a set of recommendations for UKSG.
The focus groups are a space for people to talk openly about their concerns, experiences, challenges and aspirations for EDI at UKSG. Through the focus groups we aim to
- listen and understand the experiences and views of UKSG’s stakeholders on EDI
- look at where we are now to identify key challenges gaps and opportunities around EDI at UKSG
- positively envisage actions and goals to create an equitable, inclusive and anti-oppressive organisation
The focus groups will be two hours long and will take place online on Zoom. Hannah will run a short exercise at the beginning of each session to create a safe space and will guide participants through a series of reflective questions.
We also have a limited number of slots for people to speak to Hannah 1-2-1, for anyone who may not feel comfortable in a group. Please let us know if you’d like to request this.
What's next
The audit is the first phase of our EDI work. As well as the focus groups, Hannah will carry out a review of UKSG’s policies and processes from an EDI perspective to inform the audit report, and will deliver recommendations for change. Those recommendations will be the focus of a follow-up project.
If you have any questions about the EDI audit, or want to take part in the focus groups, please contact bev@uksg.org.