The term “inclusive excellence” emerged in the 1980s and is gaining more traction among universities to seek out ways to integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), both administratively and culturally, within their institutions. By contrast, “research excellence” is a term that surfaces regularly in academic environments and has been around for a lot longer. I’ve been putting the two terms together to form “inclusive research excellence” so that the words invite conversations about bringing EDI into research design and research practices, to support researchers and to answer questions like “Research, for whom?” and “Excellence, according to whom?” Incubating inclusive research excellence in colleges and universities involves embracing the complexity of engaging in EDI and considering what defines “excellence” for researchers at different stages of their careers, across diverse disciplines, and including diverse communities of interest. Inclusive research excellence also involves considering approaches that bring forward experiences of researchers from around the world, and embraces both theoretical explorations and pragmatic development and application of ideas.
I recently, I had the honour and delight to facilitate a conversation about incubating inclusive research excellence with researchers and research administrators from colleges in Ontario. Sponsored by George Brown College and St. Lawrence College, our conversation expanded upon topics covered in earlier workshops that I facilitated about embedding EDI in research. Leaders in research administration talked about facing the challenge of balancing various institutional priorities with commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), especially in times of budget constraints. However, the panellists agreed that EDI and economic development must go hand-in-hand. They underscored the importance of community relationships in furthering their EDI efforts Panellists advised leaders in research administration to be persistent in upholding EDI values and practices, despite challenges such as turnovers in staff, funding fluctuations, and public opinion shifts. They emphasized the importance of leveraging funding for innovation and entrepreneurship, and diversifying research teams to redefine research excellence, as well as implementing mentoring and sponsorship practices to support researchers from underrepresented communities. When colleges sustain their commitment to EDI and inclusive research excellence, and their support for the community-at-large, the result is a more diverse college student population.
I am actively exploring inclusive research excellence and how it can be fostered to create inclusive research environments and transform research ecosystems.
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COMING SOON!
I am happy to announce that Viswali Consulting will be launching its e-learning platform! The first offering is the online course “Foundations in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for Researchers.” This is the go-to online professional development course for researchers across all disciplines and at any career stage, to cultivate and enhance their skills and competencies in applying equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) to their research designs and practices. The course will be delivered asynchronously and will be initially available for purchase and licensing by research teams and institutions. More details are to come in my official announcement on the launch date. Future courses will include a focus on EDI and knowledge mobilization, and the development of EDI action plans.
I’m also writing a guide, to be published by Purich Books (an imprint of UBC Press) in 2025-26, to support researchers to embed EDI in their research designs and practices that complements the online course. This handbook aims to support research excellence by being the go-to reference for the many different stages of research and for any stage of the journey to becoming an inclusive researcher.
By Leela Viswanathan
