Understanding the dynamics of ethnic identity and inequality in the UK (CoDE): Application for Transition Funding

Understandings of ethnic inequalities in the UK have developed substantially as a result of the work of The Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE). CoDE has successfully carried out an innovative programme of research, pursued challenging scientific objectives, and worked closely with a range of non-academic partners to impact on policy debates and development.

In a rapidly evolving political and policy context, we propose a further, ambitious programme of work that takes us in new directions with a distinct focus. We will move beyond nuanced description to understanding processes and causes of ethnic inequalities, and build directly on our established experience in interdisciplinary and mixed methods working. In addition, we will use a co-production approach, working with a range of partners, including key public institutions such as the BBC, universities, political parties, ethnic minority NGOs, activists, and individuals, in order to frame and carry out our research in ways that will maximise our societal impact and lead to meaningful change. Our overarching objectives are to:
-Understand how ethnic inequalities develop in a range of interconnected domains
-Examine how these processes relate to and are shaped by other social categories, such as gender, class, religion and generation
-Understand how ethnic inequalities take shape, and are embedded, in institutional spaces and practices
-Work closely with policy and practice partners to meaningfully address enduring ethnic inequalities
-Pursue methodological developments with interdisciplinary mixed methods and co-production at their core
-Achieve ongoing high quality international academic impact

Through a research plan divided into four work packages, we will examine ethnic inequalities in (1) higher education, (2) cultural production and consumption, (3) politics, representation and political parties and (4) pursue policy and institutional impact with our work in these areas. Alongside this, we are also conducting a programme of work on severe mental illness. These work packages will be organised around our ambition to understand, explain and impact on ethnic inequalities through a focus on institutional production of and responses to ethnic inequalities.

At the core of our methodological approach is interdisciplinary and mixed methods working. Our quantitative work will be predominantly secondary data analysis, making the best use of the wide range of resources in the UK (e.g. Understanding Society, Destination of Leavers of Higher Education Survey, British Election Study, ONS Longitudinal Studies). Our qualitative work will be based around ethnographic approaches that are attentive to the ways in which social processes play out differently in different sites and institutions. We are informed especially by the approach of institutional ethnography which prioritises an attention to the lived, everyday experience of inequality, but aims to clarify the wider social relations in which such experiences are embedded and by which they are shaped. Thus institutional ethnographies will be developed which begin with exploring the experience of those directly involved in institutional settings as a route to understanding how structures and practices of institutions shape individuals' experiences and practices.

Throughout our work we will integrate and mobilise research evidence to engage with a full range of partners in order to influence policy and practice development, public understanding and institutional practice. As well as having academic impact (journal articles, conferences, seminars, newsletters), our findings will be communicated directly to policy and advocacy organisations through a combination of well developed (blogs, Twitter, policy briefings) and emerging (podcasts and live streaming, museum and art exhibitions, online portal for individual narratives) forms of dissemination, and we will work directly with these organisations to achieve change.

Our approaches to achieving impact are tailored to our specific target audiences. We will build on existing partnerships and our track record of active engagement, and will develop new and creative ways of engaging with our audiences. Working closely with policy and practice partners, we will influence policy debates and development and enhance public understanding to meaningfully address enduring ethnic inequalities.

Our research has significance for a wide range of stakeholders and will be of particular benefit to:

a) Political actors, policy stakeholders and think tanks who are keen to improve their understanding of ethnic inequalities, and the ways in which policy responses have the potential to impact significantly on inequalities. These include central and local Government and associated policy advisors and civil servants. In addition to our series of policy briefing papers, we will use CoDE's already successful policy blog stream and Twitter feed to engage directly with key influencers, such as MPs, policy commentators and journalists, with coordinated campaigns focusing on key activities. We will also use our relationship with Cumberland Lodge to pursue opportunities to contribute to political party debates and conference fringe events that are relevant to ethnic inequalities.

b) Third sector organisations, public bodies and NGOs working to tackle ethnic inequalities. We are already partnered with the Runnymede Trust and will develop our relationships with other public bodies, such as the NHS, housing associations, the National Governors' Association, the BBC and the Arts Council England, and Liberty. These beneficiaries will be actively involved in the dissemination of the Centre's outputs. For example, our work with the Runnymede Trust will deliver a high profile national report and event in late 2018 on the 'State of ethnic inequality in the UK', focusing on the continuing challenges, progress made, and the opportunities for further progress, in the area of ethnic inequality in the UK.

c) Businesses and Trade Unions, who will benefit from our work on ethnic inequalities in employment, unemployment and wages. We have developed relationships with Trade Unions (TUC, UNISON, NUT) and Business in The Community, who facilitate access to major and smaller companies.

d) The general public, who will be interested in and concerned about ethnic inequalities, prejudice, racism and discrimination. We will use our positon as an expert and trusted source of information to make evidence available in informative ways, and enhance understanding of the issues covered by our research. We currently use a range of visual methods in social media to communicate our research findings and these approaches will be further exploited through the use of YouTube and podcasts. The Centre will maintain its free, public, seminar series involving international and national experts, and will use round table discussions to creatively promote new publications. We also intend to continue to develop new approaches to dissemination and public engagement, including playback theatre and performance poetry to capture, summarise and disseminate outputs and discussions at events and workshops. This will provide new and powerful forms of research communication and will incorporate the use of alternative venues such as museums and libraries. The development of an on-line portal will provide an opportunity for individuals to record their stories of ethnic inequality, allowing the public to contribute our work