Preventing bullying and harassment in research and innovation

There is no place for bullying and harassment, of anyone, in our research and innovation communities.

There is a body of evidence on why and how research culture supports, or can act against, a thriving research and innovation system. Factors that act against a healthy and productive culture include the nature of competition in research funding, lack of career progression and heavy workload pressures, in addition to the way that research is narrowly viewed and assessed.

We have created a document to show how UKRI is supporting research culture.

We want to create environments in which everyone is encouraged to contribute on the basis of their talent and skills, and where the wellbeing of staff and students is nurtured as a priority.

How we are preventing bullying and harassment

As the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation, we have a significant role in preventing bullying and harassment.

Bullying and harassment have negative impacts on researchers and their health and wellbeing, and decrease research quality and integrity, as evidenced in Research integrity: a landscape study.

A vital shift change is needed. We continue to work closely with our partners, with research organisations and universities, and with business, to tackle these problems at a system level and create positive culture change that benefits everyone.

What we’ve done so far

In 2019, we commissioned an evidence review (PDF, 3MB) into bullying and harassment in the research and innovation sector.

The review looks at the challenges we have within our sector and the most effective approaches to addressing these issues. It also includes recommendations:

for funders on the causes of bullying and harassment
for organisations to tackle bullying and harassment internally and improve on current practice.

We used these findings to inform our bullying and harassment position statement (PDF, 981KB), which sets out the actions we will take to address the causes of bullying and harassment. Specifically:

our expectations of the individuals and organisations that we fund
the support we will provide to help meet these expectations
the actions we will take if organisations do not meet our expectations.

UKRI grant terms and conditions require that upheld allegations of bullying and harassment relating to our investments are reported to UKRI, as set out in the preventing harm policy.

Reporting process for bullying and harassment

Reports should be made to the point of contact for the investment to which the issue relates, or alternatively to equality@ukri.org or preventingharmpolicy@ukri.org.

Following the publication of the draft UKRI equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy, UKRI is developing a renewed programme of activity, to prevent and tackle bullying and harassment in research and innovation.

We currently working to mature the way that we manage our reporting requirements. If you have any enquiries or interest in working with us to develop our approach, please contact us at equality@ukri.org

Our priorities for the future

We continue to collaboratively develop measures that promote an inclusive, respectful and safe research and innovation culture, so staff and students feel supported and able to report incidents within their organisations.

Our priority areas include:

improving awareness of bullying and harassment, its impacts and how it can be prevented across the sector
addressing the barriers that prevent reporting
improving data collection to better understand and monitor the problem
working with other funders and regulators to join up policies, both to create a system-wide culture change and to minimise the administrative burden
developing resources and tools to support evidence-based prevention and response strategies, including training such as supporting bystanders to take action.

We have also launched the Forum for Tackling Bullying and Harassment in Research and Innovation with partners from funding, policy and regulatory organisations. Through the forum we will:

raise awareness of bullying and harassment, and create culture change
share learning and practice across organisations
promote collaboration across policies and resources, and reduce bureaucracy.

What this means for your organisation

If you work or study at an organisation with UKRI funding, your organisation will need to evidence that it is effectively tackling bullying and harassment as part of the conditions of receiving funding.

We expect your organisation to:

take a whole organisation approach to tackling the problem
prevent the risk of bullying and harassment to anyone involved in UKRI-funded research and innovation
promote a fair, transparent and positive culture, where people can report their concerns and know they will be acted upon
have policies and procedures that follow good practice
offer dedicated support and training for leadership and management.

This is a summary of our expectations only. For the full details see our grant and training grant terms and conditions, which clarify the role of funded organisations in preventing bullying and harassment.

If an allegation is made, we expect your organisation to:

respond in an impartial, fair and timely manner
investigate any allegations that a member of staff or student has exploited, abused or harmed another person
protect the rights of all individuals involved
take a survivor-centred approach, listening and taking concerns seriously and providing appropriate support.

We reserve the right to follow up any incidences where we have evidence an organisation may not have robust policies or processes in places as set out in our terms and conditions.

For more information, see our good research resource hub for policies, standards and guidance on bullying and harassment.

If you work in a business that has business innovation funding from Innovate UK, you will need to follow their specific terms and conditions (GOV.UK).

Key resources

Find more policies, standards and guidance on bullying and harassment in our good research resource hub

Get help and advice on our bullying and harassment policies

For support in implementing these policies at your organisation or more information about our work, contact us.

Email: equality@ukri.org

Last updated: 24 July 2024