What is the I-REACCH Project?
| I-REACCH (Inclusive Research Environment Achieved through Culture Change) is designed to create change in how we do research at Leicester, informed through research, authentic voices, and experiences from staff and students. Our mission is to address the decline in diversity from postgraduate to professor and beyond by identifying and addressing the unique challenges faced by underrepresented groups. Through a series of interconnected pilot projects (workstreams) we will be exploring how can increase inclusivity and career progression. These five workstreams integrate data collection and analysis, targeted career interventions, and rigorous evaluation processes to enable all research-related staff to realise their full potential with evidence-based outcomes. |
The workstreams
I-REACCH brings together five workstreams, each addressing key challenges in researchers’ careers. Grounded in the lived experiences of those facing barriers to progression and belonging, these workstreams aim to dismantle obstacles and create pathways to success.
Rethinking equitable recruitment practices
Workstream 1
Workstream 1 focuses on addressing the barriers to diverse recruitment in both staff and researcher positions. Its goal is to identify key “bottlenecks” in the recruitment process and explore pathways to overcome them.
Workstream 2
Digital credentials are transforming the job market by changing how job seekers showcase their skills and get hired. They give individuals advantage by showing their skills in an updated and tangible way. Most importantly, they give job seekers control over how their information is shared.
Workstream 3
Workstream 3 addresses a lack of belonging and engagement within research culture activities, evidenced by poor update by staff.
Workstream 4
A key challenge of Workstream 4 is the inconsistency of empathy and inclusive leaderships, particularly disadvantaging underrepresented groups.
Workstream 5
The aims of Workstream 5 is to develop an evaluation plan to support the activities and interventions across all the core workstreams.
What does our principal investigator, Nishan Canagarajah, say about research culture?
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