Equality Impact Assessments in Open Research: A Tool for Change?

This poster was presented at the Future of Open Research Conference hosted by Technical University Munich, May 4th-6th 2026. AbstractThe UK Reproducibility Network’s Open Research Programme (ORP) (2021-2027), is engaging twenty-four UK universities in accelerating the uptake of high-quality open research practices. The ORP is seeking to build institutional capacities; support reform of reward and recognition mechanisms; promote collaboration and sharing of policies, practices and case studies; and develop a sustainable longer-term model for change - through five projects. Whilst the teams within the ORP are working towards these outputs and impacts, given the scale of change, we recognised that considering Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within every ORP project would be essential. Putting EDI values into practice can often be overly bureaucratic, intangible and - for those not familiar with EDI - it can feel like there are insurmountable barriers to action. To address these challenges, the main EDI work of the ORP centred on using Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) as a tool for change. To support the use of EIAs, we recruited, managed and supported EDI Champions for each ORP project, to have locally-embedded expertise within each area. EIAs are often used as an assessment at a specific point in time, such as before a policy is implemented. We used EIAs to systematically assess, understand and implement actions and mitigations to ensure the ORP is delivering change that is equitable throughout the entire lifetime of the programme. Taking this approach was not without its challenges, through working with EDI Champions, Project Leads and their teams, it took time to truly embed EDI considerations within the ways of working of each of the projects and their outputs. However, the structure of the EIAs gave us essential framing for discussions and clear requirements for taking actions. It also allowed for us to consider changes over time and be more specific as project outputs were refined. Ultimately, we have delivered the EDI commitments made by the ORP and gone much further to embed sustainable EDI actions throughout the programme. Using EIAs in this way allowed us to go beyond simple assessments to rooting EDI values throughout the ORP and the change it has showcased.