This research was published in 2023 (BUCS Race and Equality Research). To meet the recommendations of the research, BUCS set up the Race Equality Research Implementation Group (RERIG) made up of higher education staff members and BUCS staff. The Co-Chairs for this group are Katy Teasdale (University of Nottingham) and Ryan Carty (Westminster City Council).
The output of this group is the BUCS Anti-Racist Charter & Toolkit. This will be available, free of charge, to all institutions and has been designed by and for our members. It has focused on providing support for those institutions who may not have the resource to dedicate the volume of work that has gone into these tools. The package of work includes:
Diagnostic Assessment
- This is a self-reflection survey that institutions can answer questions on relating to the four areas we are working on: Policy & Process, Education & Training, Matchday Experience and Community Voice. These questions have been designed by the group and tested through a pilot. We have engaged People Insights to provide all members with the survey and to provide easy action plan capabilities. Institutions can compare how they answered the survey questions to institutions in their region or of similar sizes or set ups. This is intended to support institutions to work together to address similar development areas.
Anti-Racist Charter
Institutions will sign up to a Charter which recognises our collective responsibility to act and has a minimum requirement of:
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Reporting mechanism within your institution for staff and students to report incidents of racism or discrimination.
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Access to demographic data for engagement within your programme(s)*
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Allocate a staff lead for the BUCS Anti-Racist Charter
Toolkit
- Once members have signed up to the Charter, they can access the Toolkit. The Toolkit is comprised of case studies, best practice examples, templates and videos. It will be supported by hosting workshops through the season through Sporting Equals that addresses those areas the Diagnostic Assessment suggests the sector needs support on.
The charter encourages ongoing engagement rather than a one-off activity; completing the Diagnostic Assessment is significant first step. We have planned to support members beyond the completion of the Assessment through establishing a community of practice and hosting learning opportunities throughout the year. More detail is available here.
BUCS Internal Anti-Racist Work
BUCS recognises that we are not the knowledge holders when it comes to embedding anti-racism. We intend to build our understanding and practices along with the rest of the sector. To that end, in 2025 our internal Belonging Working Group reviewed the Diagnostic Assessment questions and adapted them to better apply to our organisation. BUCS then took part in the pilot conducted by RERIG, completed the diagnostic assessment and identified actions to take as a result of the assessment. We will continue to develop this action plan, recognising the unequivocal need for us as a workplace to create an environment where people from ethnically diverse communities can belong and thrive.
