Recommendation 20

HM Government · verbatim extract Not Addressed

101. Bullying and harassment within the R&D system, of any type, is unacceptable and must be eliminated. We need a focus on prevention and creating supportive environments in which these behaviours can be tackled at root. 102. Although we do not have representative data on the prevalence across the whole of the R&D sector, bullying and harassment has been reported as a key concern in academic research in particular. This behaviour has serious implications on individuals, on organisations, on research integrity, and on productivity. 103. The Forum for tackling Bullying and Harassment in research and innovation (FTBH) launched in November 2020. The FTBH brings together funding, policy and regulatory organisations, in the UK and internationally. The Forum is a place for dissemination, challenge and action. All attending organisations are committed to driving cultural change and creating healthy and safe, world-class research and innovation environments. 104. The strength of the Forum is that it is a shared endeavour, convened by the sector, for the sector. The primary advantage of this model is that it promotes buy-in and ownership, throughout associated organisations. UKRI currently convenes and chairs the Forum on behalf of the sector. To strengthen the Forum’s structures and its ability to make decisions and realise its potential, the Forum is exploring the implementation of a leadership group. 105. Membership of the Forum has grown significantly, extending coverage across the research and innovation sector, into industry and higher education. This uniquely broad coverage increases the impact of dissemination within the Forum. The diversity of participation offers opportunity for wide influence. 106. The Forum has created a trusted space for dissemination and sharing of practice. Leading approaches in the sector have been shared and discussed in the Forum, along with leading international research. Networks and collaborations have been built, through this community of practice. Common barriers to preventing and tackling B&H have been identified, such as data sharing limitations, with efforts made to find solutions in such scenarios. 107. A flagship priority for the Forum has been the development of a set of values of good citizenship. The values have been developed collaboratively. It is anticipated that these will be published in the first half of 2023. The values are designed to cultivate and support research and innovation environments. 108. Data and definitions have been highlighted as a priority for the Forum. It is expected that future work plans will focus upon this topic, linking in with activity on evidence and evaluation. 109. As the Good Practice Exchange (GPEx) progresses, the Forum will seek opportunities to support, engage and develop in parallel, creating coherent and complementary resources for the sector.