Runnymede Academic Fora: End Racism This Generation.

The Runnymede Academic Forum has been established since 2005, as a space for knowledge exchange and collaboration between academics working on issues of race equality. The Forum forms part of the work of the Runnymede Trust, which has been at the forefront of policy-focused research and thought leadership in race equality for over forty years. The aim of the forum is to bring together researchers from different disciplines and areas of research to foster dialogue, to identify emerging areas of concern, to disseminate research findings and to generate publications and interventions into the policy arena. The Forum is the only national academic network focused on issues of race equality, and to date has been very successful in producing some key interventions into the policy arena and public debate - for example around the white working class, mixed race, criminal justice and gangs. The Forum currently comprises 80 academics from across the UK, predominantly concentrated in the social sciences.

The current research network proposal aims to build on and extend this existing network, to shape the current debates around race equality in the UK. These issues are of key significance given the changing demographics of the UK, evidence of continued and increasing racial diversity and inequality across a range of policy areas in an age of austerity, and the increasing silence around tackling racial inequality at the level of policy and politics. The research network would enable the Forum to extend in five new ways: 1) to expand the disciplinary focus of the Forum, to increase participation from the Arts and Humanities and facilitate the dissemination of work from these areas into the public and policy arena; 2) to hold forum meetings in key cities around the UK to increase participation from non-London based academics, to address key regional and local issues, and engage with local state and third sector groups; 3) to develop a related network of new scholars, including research collaboration, dissemination and publication, and a training and mentoring system for new researchers; 4) to help develop and support a national network of doctoral students working on race and ethnicity, including an annual national conference; 5) to develop a website bringing new research to a broad audience of stakeholders and interested audiences, and provde a resource bank of new research for academics, researchers, policymakers, community groups, and students 6) to foster international links with academic institutions and third sector groups, initially in the US, to explore similarities and differences in different national, cultural and historical contexts, and promote international collaboration in research and dissemination.

In addition to the academic beneficiaries, the research network will be of benefit to the following groups:

1) The Runnymede Trust: the Runnymede Academic Forum to date has given the Trust access to emerging scholarship in the field, identifying key areas for research, promoting research collaboration, and generating significant collaborative publications (through the Runnymede Perspectives series, Bulletin, edited collections) and dissemination (e.g. BanglaStories, Making Community History, Revealing Romans). The consolidation and extension of the Forum will enable Runnymede to identify and develop new areas of research (in particular in the Arts and Humanities, which have been under-represented to date), strengthen local academic and community links through the regionally based Forum meetings, develop their web presence, and generate new research collaborations and publications, raising the profile of the organisation and the Forum members, and maximising impact locally, nationally and internationally.

2) Government (local and central) and policymakers: the production of online publications, the Bulletin and the website will disseminate academic research in key policy areas in an accessible manner. The Fora will also provide a resource in terms of expertise and knowledge, and will facilitate knowledge exchange between the academy and central and local government. The Fora will also take on a key role in setting the agenda for new issues in race equality.

3) Media, public and third sector organisations: the production of online publications, the Bulletin and the website will disseminate academic research across a range of sectors in an accessible manner. The Fora membership will comprise an invaluable resource for organisations seeking information and expertise, and a basis for collaboration in terms of research design, conduct and dissemination. Recent collaboration between the PI, Runnymede and organisations such as community groups, museums, archives, libraries, youth groups and schools etc, have been highly successful, and we would seek to develop this model further. The Fora could also facilitate links between public and third sector groups, locally and nationally, who seek to engage with issues of race equality. The regionally based Forum meetings will act as a space which bring together local academic institutions and third sector groups for information sharing and agenda setting.

4) Universities, schools and young people: the production and dissemination of current research in accessible form online will be invaluable for providing resources for university students, from undergraduates to doctoral students. In addition, drawing on Runnymede's extensive experience and networks, the Fora will provide material suitable for use in schools and with young people, to contribute to the curricula in history, English, sociology, PSE, religion, citizenship etc.

5) General audience: issues of race equality, migration and multiculturalism are notoriously fraught in terms of public debate and opinion, and the academy has not always been successful in intervening into this arena. The Fora would work with Runnymede to make research accessible to interested members of the public - for example, drawing on Runnymede's influential 'Key Facts' series - to help shape an informed public debate. The online format would facilitate wide accessibility and engagement.