A new report reveals these early inequities and makes recommendations for how institutions and funders can make the funding process fairer from the start.
Partnering with research ecosystem experts, MoreBrains Cooperative, the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for health research at the University of Bristol led a six-month project on issues of equality, diversity, inclusion, and transparency in the process of applying for research funding.
“This stage is called the pre-award process”, explains Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Director, Rachael Gooberman-Hill, “and it should be transparent, easily understood, and equitable.”
She continues: “We’ve listened to researchers, research managers, and funders and have heard that this isn’t always the case. Instead, they say that they encounter and see obstacles, biases, and other issues that reduce equity in access to research funding opportunities. These include avoidable time pressures, requirements that could be made much clearer, and differences between institutions in how much resource and support they can offer.”
Josh Brown, Cofounder of MoreBrains explains that, as a result of the Matthew Effect, which is very much in evidence in Higher Education institutions globally: “A minority of (typically well-established) researchers who have already received grants are more likely to be put forward for — and awarded — yet more money, while their (typically less senior) colleagues struggle to get funding.”
The recommendations in the report were developed thanks to a collaboration between research managers and researchers from the University of Bristol and over 20 other universities across the UK, along with funders including Wellcome, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and Cancer Research UK.
By bringing together those involved in the pre-award process for funding the team developed a set of 11 practical recommendations for institutions and funders to strengthen diversity among researchers so we can improve the overall quality and impact of research.
The recommendations can be read in full in the report: Issues of equality, diversity, inclusion, and transparency in the process of applying for research funding.
Ian Penton-Voak, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology, School of Psychological Science at the University of Bristol, and lead of Elizabeth Blackwell Institute's Open and Transparent Research initiative, said: “We hope that by considering the needs of researchers, funders and institutions within a single process, we can increase transparency and equity in the pre-award environment.”