Health Data Research UK’s (HDR UK) mission is to unite the UK’s health data to make discoveries that improve people’s lives. Diversity and inclusion fortifies each part of Health Data Research UK. We can do more and deliver better outcomes by bringing together a wide range of people, skills, ideas, opinions, beliefs and experiences. It helps us to be stronger and better – by generating new research insights and innovations from diverse perspectives, diverse data, different skills, and different populations.

We embrace diversity and all the ways we are different – visible and non-visible alike. We commit to provide equality of opportunity to ensure no individual or group is treated differently or less favourably. We want to create an environment where people with diverse backgrounds, insights and experiences can work together openly and with respect. By working in this way we embody our values – Transparency, Optimism, Respect, Courage and Humility – and create an environment that is inspiring, collaborative and delivering at pace and at scale.

We will work with a wide range of stakeholders to create our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy and to identify how we influence and drive forward a culture that instils this thinking in the sectors in which we work. We will do this by identifying those within our community who have a passion for diversity, and bring them (or a small group of representatives) together as a steering group, to help define the main challenges for HDR UK in equality, diversity and inclusion. The group will co-design their own terms of reference which will likely include being tasked to define at least three proactive interventions to be put in place by the end of this financial year, to drive forward the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda and make a tangible improvement to the culture of HDR UK.