EDI toolkit

About the project

At the Academy, we know that new ventures within engineering are critical to building a more sustainable society and establishing an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

Startups and scaleups are the backbone of the UK economy and will be critical to build back better and levelling up agendas. Research has shown that existing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) tools aren't adequately tailored to startups and scaleups, and there is a demand for support from this under-served community.

To meet the Academy's goals and responsibilities, we are developing an EDI Toolkit that will directly support startups and scaleups to embed and implement diversity and inclusion best practice that help create a truly inclusive workforce and culture.

Aims & Timeline

We aim to provide time-poor, growth-focused businesses with an accessible online platform to implement diversity and inclusion best practice from the ground up.

Three priority areas guide our process:

• develop and implement a means-tested platform
• create enriched EDI content
• measure impact

The first phase will see a group of early adopters - made up of 20 to 30 Enterprise Hub member startups and scaleups - test the EDI Toolkit in late 2022. Feedback gathered will be used in the second phase to grow and refine the toolkit for its launch to more companies in 2023.

To find out more about the development of our EDI Toolkit, or how to get involved with the project, please contact Diversity & Inclusion Programme Manager, Jessica Stevens.