Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in JNCC monitoring schemes

Attendees at sunset survey © Lucy Houliston

JNCC believes that everyone in our organisation and across all of our work should have an opportunity to contribute to their full potential, in an inclusive and supportive environment. In order to support our aims in our biodiversity monitoring work, we have developed a UKTEPoP monitoring schemes strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This strategy sets out how we will work in monitoring partnerships to make our citizen science monitoring schemes as diverse, inclusive, and accessible as possible to volunteers from across society.

Why are we invested in DEI?
Our UKTEPoP DEI objectives
How are we working to achieve our DEI objectives?
DEI Resources

Why are we invested in DEI?

JNCC and our partners agree in the importance of breaking down barriers to inclusion in our monitoring schemes.

We understand DEI in monitoring schemes has benefits for:

Society: Involvement in biodiversity monitoring provides active and practical education which helps to promote attitudes of environmental stewardship.

Volunteers: Opportunities for different members of society to engage with nature promotes health and wellbeing.

Biodiversity evidence: Involving and training a wide range of volunteers allows for increased opportunities to collect more high-quality biological data, better steering evidence-based advice.

Monitoring schemes: Diverse volunteers bring new skills and local knowledge; increased scheme coverage; and ensures sustainability of data collection into the future.

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Our UKTEPoP DEI objectives

To understand and work towards decreasing barriers to inclusion in UKTEPoP monitoring schemes across demographic groups, establishing a precedent for other monitoring schemes and networks.
To have a collaborative approach to improving DEI within monitoring schemes.
To establish networks to share experiences of connecting to communities, and of developing pathways to inclusion.
To invite and be steered by a diversity of perspectives, working with communities to ensure our approach is appropriate and equitable.
To focus on high level promotion of schemes to enhance their visibility and accessibility, as well as increasing demographic representation.
To establish opportunities for involvement for people with a range of expertise and experience, so that we can bolster the volunteer base and enhance data collection.
To ensure that our work in this area promotes a culture of inclusion, trust, respect, and engagement for volunteers.

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How are we working to achieve our DEI objectives?

Recent and current actions we are exploring and developing within UKTEPoP partnerships are:

Running surveys and focus groups with citizen scientists to understand the demographics of scheme volunteers, and the motivations and barriers to inclusion for under-represented groups.
Working in partnerships to identify DEI areas of focus for UKTEPoP schemes.
Engaging with DEI experts for JNCC, our schemes, and our partners, to bring specific expertise into our work.
Working with partners, to create scheme-specific, measurable and tangible action plans, developed using all available relevant research and resources.
Building tools to help to target and assess effective action.
Building training, workshop and championship programmes which are targeted, accessible, and appropriately advertised to potential new volunteers from currently underrepresented groups.
Increasing inter-organisational DEI work, looking at intersecting aims and goals, and promoting cross-scheme communication and collaboration.
Ensuring learning in this space is ongoing and responsive.

Across many UKTEPoP monitoring schemes, partnership work has already been making significant steps towards understanding and increasing inclusivity and accessibility. Some of the actions and their impact on engagement are described in the resources below.

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