SOCIAL INCLUSION & EQUALITY IN-DEPTH EDICa
Transforming work to unlock inclusion, innovation and impact
Across the United Kingdom, research, industry and innovation systems play a central role in addressing complex global challenges. Their success depends not only on technical excellence, but on the diversity, creativity, and sustainability of the network of people working within them. Yet across universities, laboratories, and innovation-driven organisations, structural barriers continue to shape who can enter, remain and progress.
These barriers are often embedded in the design of work itself. Factors such as rigid working patterns, inaccessible environments, and limited recognition of health-related experiences — including disability, neurodivergence, menstrual health and menopause — can make it difficult for individuals to fully participate. As a result, talented individuals leave at every stage of the pipeline across research and innovation settings.
This loss of talent has significant implications. It affects not only individual wellbeing and career progression, but also the capacity of organisations to innovate effectively and deliver meaningful impact. Without addressing these systemic challenges, the UK’s ability to remain globally competitive and socially responsive is at risk.
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Caucus (EDICa) was established to respond to this challenge at scale. Supported by UK Research and Innovation and the British Academy, EDICa brings together interdisciplinary research to examine how work is structured across the research and innovation, and employers across a range of sectors, including its intersections with industry and applied settings. Its focus is on redesigning work so that more people can contribute and thrive.
The programme addresses three interconnected areas: the career lifecycle, the research and innovation process, and the organisation of work. Central to this approach is a commitment to co-creation, ensuring that those most affected by barriers are directly involved in shaping solutions.
A defining feature of EDICa is its emphasis on translating research into practical, organisation-level change.
When work is designed to accommodate a wider range of experiences and needs, organisations are better able to retain talent, foster creativity and generate more robust, impactful solutions.
A defining feature of EDICa is its emphasis on translating research into practical, organisation-level change. Its work provides evidence that can be applied across all industries, from academic institutions to public and private sector organisations.
Research on neurodivergence and disability has demonstrated how workplace expectations and environments can unintentionally exclude individuals. Rigid schedules, sensory challenges and concerns around disclosure often combine to limit participation. EDICa has reframed these issues as organisational design challenges, producing guidance on workplace adjustments, flexible practices and inclusive environments, including laboratory and technical settings.
The programme has also brought new visibility to areas frequently overlooked in workplace policy. Research on menstrual health has shown how environments that lack flexibility or support can affect the employment outcomes of those experiencing problematic menstruation. By translating findings into practical guidance for employers, EDICa has helped shift this from an individual concern to an organisational responsibility.
Similarly, EDICa’s work on menopause has highlighted the significant but under-recognised impact of unsupported perimenopause on career progression, particularly among mid-career professionals. By positioning menopause as a workplace issue, the research has contributed to a growing recognition of the need for supportive policies and practices that retain experienced talent.
Beyond individual projects, EDICa’s impact extends across the research and innovation ecosystem. Its Flexible Fund has supported a portfolio of projects that explore inclusive practice in different contexts, broadening its reach and enabling further innovation. In parallel, its work on bias in peer review and decision-making processes is informing sector-wide discussions on fairness, transparency and equity in funding and organisational systems.
Following its applications in research and innovation, EDICa’s interventions are now changing the way sectors like energy, transport, housing and charities develop inclusive approaches to work. This work is delivering essential wider societal and economic impact and shaping the future of work in the UK.
Collectively, EDICa’s research and the impact of its co-designed practical interventions demonstrate that inclusion is fundamental to effective innovation. When work is designed to accommodate a wider range of experiences and needs, organisations are better able to retain talent, foster creativity and generate more robust, impactful solutions.
By focusing on how work is structured across research, industry and innovation environments, EDICa is helping to reshape systems that underpin knowledge creation and application. In doing so, it is contributing to a more inclusive, resilient and high-performing innovation ecosystem that is better equipped to deliver economic, societal and global impact.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Caucus (EDICa) is funded by UK Research and Innovation (ESRC, AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC and Innovate UK) and the British Academy,
