NIHR employees invited to create LGBTQ+ staff network

As part of Pride Month at NIHR, plans have been announced by the NIHR Research Inclusion team to create an NIHR LGBTQ+ Staff Network that will also be open to all NIHR Infrastructure as well as NIHR coordinating centres.

The acronym LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer, with the plus encompassing a number of other identities relating to sexual orientation and gender identity including, but not limited to, asexual, pansexual, non-binary, intersex and genderfluid.

NIHR is starting its inclusive staff network journey with an LGBTQ+ Staff Network in response to the interest we received from colleagues during our 2022 Pride activities. The LGBTQ+ Network will serve as a pilot forerunner to other potential NIHR-wide staff networks focusing on different aspects of diversity and inclusion.

Inclusion is one of the NIHR’s operating principles, and embedding inclusion into our systems, processes and culture is one of the areas of strategic focus highlighted in Best Research for Best Health: The Next Chapter.

LGBTQ+ Network membership

The Network will be open to all staff working as part of NIHR (such as staff in coordinating centres, LCRN core teams, delivery staff in LCRN partner organisations and staff in NIHR infrastructure e.g., ARCs and BRCs) who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as any staff who consider themselves friends, family or allies to LGBTQ+ people.

Some staff may already be part of LGBTQ+ groups or networks at their employing organisations – the focus of the NIHR LGBTQ+ Staff Network would be to support members around their roles and functions, rather than in relation to their employer.

What is the purpose of the LGBTQ+ Staff Network?

The NIHR Research Inclusion Team is keen to ensure that those within the Network play an active role in deciding what the Network is for.

The NIHR LGBTQ+ Staff Network may provide a space for peer support, developing mentoring relationships and networking across the NIHR for LGBTQ+ staff. The Network may organise events and activities around inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the work of the NIHR, such as for key dates such as Pride Month, LGBTQ+ History Month, World AIDS Day, Trans Day of Visibility, etc. It may also contribute to activities that support NIHR’s wider strategic inclusion priorities, to ensure inclusivity around sexuality and gender identity in all aspects of the work of the NIHR.

How do we find out more or get involved?

You can get involved in one of two ways:

• register your interest in joining a small working group to help us determine the aims and focus of the LGBTQ+ Staff Network and how it will work
• register your interest in joining the Network once it has been designed.

If you are interested in being part of the Network in either or both of the above capacities, please complete this short form by 14 July 2023 for the NIHR Research Inclusion Team.

Contact:

Please contact the NIHR Research Inclusion Team if you have any further questions or comments.

• Visit the About Us section on our website to find out more about Nurturing Inclusive Research at NIHR Cambridge BRC.