Funding can make or break research programs and livelihoods, especially for ecologists from diverse backgrounds who are just starting their careers.
Funding mechanisms must center equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The path to a successful career in ecology and related STEM fields should be equally accessible to all, including people from historically marginalized and under-represented groups.
However, a lack of funding is a major barrier for early-career researchers (ECRs) from historically marginalized and under-represented groups. Funding supports research, the pursuit and investigation of novel ideas, as well as the livelihood and career development of researchers. Without funding, talented researchers can end up leaving the field.
In 2021, a Working Group funded by the Canadian Institution of Ecology and Evolution (CIEE) came together to develop the Stage-based Asessments of Granting for EDI (SAGE) Toolkit for grant funders and advocates of early-career funding opportunities to self reflect and assess across multiple grant cyces their support and advancement of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) among their applicant pool and grant recipients.
Specifically, the SAGE Toolkit assesses how efforts at the 4 main stages of the granting process (Advertisement, Application, Review, and Awarding) can support EDI. The stages are based on the discrete stages that an applicant experiences.
The Working Group focused on race, but the Toolkit is pertinent to multiple axes of identity, and recognizes the impacts of intersectionality. Many other axes of identities and backgrounds are under-represented, disadvantaged, and often left out of equitable consideration for grants. Intersectionality is the connectedness and cumulative impact of multiple forms of identity and thus discrimination, and it can further reduce diversity in grant applicants and recipients.
Stages of a Funding Opportunity
Each stage can support early-career researchers (ECRs) and advance EDI
Advertising
Effective advertising is critical for attracting diverse applicants as this is the first interaction between funding opportunities and potential applicants. Sharing platforms and inclusive language are important considerations for EDI.
Application
The time and effort that applicants dedicate to developing and submitting applications is a major barrier. Qualifications and requirements should be justified and commensurate with the size of the grant.
Review
The review process determines what applications - and therefore ECRs - have the chance at funding. Transparency is crucial to establishing metrics, expectations, as well as trust and accountability with applicants.
Awarding
Dialogue between funding agencies and applicants/recipients is valuable for accommodating unexepected circumstances and improving future granting cycles. Visibility of award results can demonstrate EDI progress.
