The Diversity and Inclusion Funded Project 2024 to 2025
What is it?
The Diversity and Inclusion Funded Projects provides grants of up to £10,000 for impactful projects addressing discrimination and inequality, enhancing representation of marginalised groups, promoting diversity and inclusion, and implementing best practices at the university. Projects aligned with LJMU’s Access and Participation Plan, Race Equality Charter Action Plans, and Athena Swan Action Plans are highly encouraged. Email the Diversity and Inclusion Team for the Action Plans.
What should be the focus of the project?
Applicants must showcase the purpose, scope of impact, and expected outcomes of their projects, within their applications and the project should focus on any of the following:
- Northern Irish students
- People from the Armed Forces community
- Care leavers
- Neurodiversity
- Estranged students
- Men as carers, parents, guardians
- Black students’ achievement gap
- Decolonising/Inclusive curriculum
- Outreach activities in primary schools
- Intersectional identities: disability, gender, ethnicity.
- Future workforce and recruitment in higher education
- Justice and Prison involved Communities
What is expected?
The outcomes of the project must demonstrate a substantial and/or quotative nature to enable evaluation. This could include developing a resource toolkit for LJMU webpages, implementing a work-based learning initiative that engages LJMU students and the Liverpool community, organising a research or community-based exhibition with a project evaluation component, showcasing new instances of best practices that could be implemented and embraced across different areas of the institution.
If project leads are unsure of the long-term impact on LJMU or how it fits with LJMU’s Access and Participation Plans, Race Equality Charter Action Plans and/or Athena Swan Action Plans, email the Diversity and Inclusion Team to discuss this using the subject line, ‘DI Funded Project 2024 – Inquiry’.
When will the project end?
We expect the project funding(s) to conclude in June 2025. A celebratory gathering will be organised around this time to showcase the various projects and their impacts. This gathering will be inclusive of the wider community, as well as staff, students, and the communities involved in the project. Project leads or their representatives will be expected to deliver a presentation on their projects and create an A2 research poster illustrating the impact and results of their work.
Who can apply?
The programme places a strong emphasis on promoting collaborative initiatives that involve a combination of academic staff, students, and professional services staff. We strongly encourage partnerships with our local and regional communities, but it is essential to mention that project leads must be LJMU staff members.
What is the judging criteria?
Focus Topic
Must be a focus topic outlined by the Diversity and Inclusion Team and how your project will be addressing it.
Community or Department involvement
The panel will be looking for sustained, meaningful interaction between the communities and departments between LJMU staff and students throughout the duration of the project.
Investigative and impactful element
It needs to be clear to the panel that your aims and objectives link to your project and that LJMU will be clearly benefiting from it (You can link this to the Access and Participation Plan, Athena Swan Action Plan and Race Equality Charter Action Plan), and what is your process of data analysis.
Equipment and materials
The panel will verify that your items are directly related to your project, and it is crucial to ensure that the items are well justified. It is advised not to use funding for purchasing items that are typically included in Faculty/Department budgets. Additionally, the judges will expect to see that the proposed items offer the best value for money.
Involvement of LJMU students and community
It is essential for the panel to observe your process of including LJMU students or Liverpool communities into your projects. The judges will expect to see a significant LJMU student or Liverpool Community participation, but if that is not possible and your project involves a small group, there must be a well-defined plan to share the work with the wider LJMU community.
Project longevity
It is imperative for these projects to showcase both sustainability and longevity. Therefore, the panel will diligently examine the evidence of the advantages your project offers, as well as how the broader LJMU community will benefit from its outcomes. The committee will also evaluate the presence of strategies aimed at replicating or expanding your project.
The deadline for application submissions will be on 28 June 2024 at 5pm.