Head of science committee requests UKRI’s diversity data

Norman Lamb, chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, has asked UK Research and Innovation to provide the committee with data on ages, disabilities and genders of those it funds.

The request comes in advance of the committee’s inquiry into the impact of science funding policy on equality and diversity, and as the focus on these characteristics in the awarding of research funding is increasing more generally.

The inquiry was proposed during the annual My Science Inquiry event in January, which is an opportunity for the science community to suggest topics to the committee. Rachel Oliver, a professor of materials science at the University of Cambridge, pitched it on behalf of just over 200 researchers.