Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Research

Embedded within its vision and institutional plans, KPU embraces all cultures. KPU is committed to establishing increased equity and inclusion via four pillars of equity, diversity and inclusion: (a) Indigeneity, (b) Disability Justice, Neurodiversity awareness and Accessibility, (c) Anti-Racism, and (d) Gender and Sexuality Equity. Through these pillars of equity and inclusivity, KPU is fostering increased research excellence, innovation and creativity within the post-secondary sector across all disciplines. KPU’s commitment is underpinned through the Dimensions Charter, the B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (which aligns with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, the BC Human Rights Code, the Accessible B.C Act, and the Scarborough National Charter.

KPU is committed to meeting or exceeding its obligations under the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP), and the broader research enterprise through EDI initiatives. KPU recognizes that EDI strengthens the research community, the quality, relevance and impact of research, and increases opportunities for the full pool of potential researchers.

KPU’s Senate has also endorsed Declaration on Research Assessments and will take an inclusive approach to assessing research outputs. This includes valuing research based on Indigenous ways of knowing, community-based or focused research, and publications that are not peer-reviewed. KPU values and celebrates diverse knowledge systems, including Indigenous knowledge systems.

Raising awareness within KPU of its commitment to and the benefits of EDI within the CRCP and the broader research enterprise is a shared responsibility amongst key partners across the entire university. KPU has a broad strategy to raising awareness within the institution of its commitment to and the benefits of EDI within the CRCP and the broader research enterprise. This work is being collectively advanced through the Office of Associate Vice President, Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies and the Office of Vice President, Equity and Inclusive Communities that includes divisions of (a) Indigeneity, (b) Disability Justice, Neurodiversity awareness and Accessibility, (c) Anti-Racism, and (d) Gender and Sexuality Equity.

Key committees that have also advanced this work include the President’s Diversity and Equity Committee, Accessibility Committee, EDI Action Plan Steering Committee, the Task Force on Anti-Racism, Indigenous Advisory Committee, and the Task Force on EDI in Research and Scholarship. Allied groups include the Pride Advocacy Group, and the Disability Inclusion Group. The EDI Action Plan Steering Committee recently release the draft institutional EDI Action Plan and the Task Force on Anti-Racism also released its Final Report and Final Recommendations. The Office of Indigenous Leadership, Innovation, and Partnerships also recently released the The xéʔelɬ Pathway to Systemic Transformation Framework.

KPU has endowed $7M to support EDI initiatives throughout the institution. KPU has also launched the inaugural JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) awards to showcase the related achievements of the members of the university community. The Faculty of Arts has also set up an EDI award. Various faculties and schools are also creating equity committees.

The Office of Research Services will also be soon hiring for an Anti-Racist, Anti-Oppression, and Decolonial Research Officer who will play a significant role in advancing EDI and decolonizing across the research enterprise.

KPU’s commitments to EDI within the CRCP and the broader research enterprise will be shared through this public page, social media channels, and official university communications and publications.

Details on the Canada Research Chairs program (CRCP) Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Practices can be found below: 

3. CRC Program EDI requirements and practices 

4. 2019 Addendum to the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Settlement Agreement 

5. CRC Program statistics 

• KPU's May 2022-Dec 2022 EDI Progress Report
• KPU's 2021-May 2022 EDI Progress Report
• KPU's 2019/2020 EDI Progress Report

The following individuals are implementing various aspects of KPU’s EDI agenda and may be contacted with questions or concerns.

• Dr. Asma Sayed: Vice President, Equity & Inclusive Communities
• Dr. Deepak Gupta: Associate Vice President, Research and Innovation

Equity, diversity and/or inclusion (EDI) questions and concerns related to the Canada Research Chairs Program may be brought forward to the Office of Research Services or directly to the VP, Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies. EDI concerns in general may also be brought forward to Human Resources or a union representative. Informal resolution is generally encouraged as a first step and formal concerns are handled and addressed by one or more of the following approaches or a combination of approaches depending on the nature of the concern and the parties involved:

1.    EDI questions or concerns that relate to the Kwantlen Faculty Association (KFA) Collective Agreement are addressed according to Article 23 of the KFA collective agreement. Per the collective agreement, formal complaints must be made in writing to the University President or their designate. 
2.    EDI questions or concerns that relate to the BC Government and Services Employees Union are addressed according to Article 13 of the BCGEU Collective Agreement. Per the collective agreement, formal complaints must be made in writing to the designated University Vice-President.
3.    EDI questions or concerns that relate to excluded Administrative staff or that are not covered by a collective agreement are addressed through KPU’s HR21 Respectful Workplace policy and procedure and monitored and addressed by Senior Management per the procedure. Per the procedure, formal complaints must be made in writing to the University Vice-President of Finance and Administration or designate.”

Students Concerns:

The Student Rights and Responsibilities Office (SRRO) is responsible for policies ST7 (Student Conduct Non-Academic) and SR14 (Sexual Violence and Misconduct) and is a main access point to the Behaviour Intervention Team. Additionally, the SRRO can help with conflict engagement, restorative dialogues and approaches, and mediation and coaching.

Members of an equity seeking group who would like to connect to the Office of the Equity and Inclusive Communities (OEIC) directly and discreetly may email OEIC_listens@kpu.ca.

Direct connection to the OEIC is in recognition of unintended embedded inequities in institutional systems. Reaching out to the OEIC does not negate the responsibility of students to follow KPU policies (and more specifically policies ST7 and SR14). The OEIC will work with the SRRO if information disclosed includes behaviors that may be in breach of KPU policy ST7 and/or SR14.

Under policy AD2, students are able to file complaints regarding various university services.

• AD2 Complaints About Instruction, Services, Employees or University  

Employment or Workplace Concerns:

In conjunction with mechanisms available through their employment or collective agreements, employees are able to report concerns or make formal complaints via the following policies:

• HR15 Diversity and Inclusiveness / Procedure
• HR21 Respectful Workplace / Procedure

Requests for Accommodation:

Requests for accommodation from employees or students are handled through three different policies:

• HR18 Job Accommodations for Employees
• ST14 Services for Students with Disabilities
• ST15 Student Access to Interpreting Services

Research and Scholarship:

Concerns or complaints regarding research and scholarship are handled through:

• RS2 Integrity in Research and Scholarship / Procedure

Protected Disclosure:

KPU also has a protected disclosure mechanism for concerns that cannot be addressed elsewhere:

• HR24 Protected Disclosure / Procedure

As there are fewer than 5 chair positions at KPU, the numbers are withheld to protect the privacy of the current chair holders. 

CRC program statistics and equity target data 

HR16 – Employment Equity: HR16 Employment Equity Policy (kpu.ca)  

HR15 – Diversity & Inclusiveness: HR15 Diversity and Inclusiveness Policy.pdf (kpu.ca) 

HR21 – Respectful Workplace: HR21 Respectful Workplace Policy.pdf (kpu.ca) 

Collective Agreement for faculty members:  KPU-KFA-2022-2025-Collective-Agreement-Signed-Copy.pdf (yourkfa.ca) 

KPU CRCP Utilization Spreadsheet  

12. Link to the program’s requirements for recruiting and nominating Canada Research Chairs

13. A section with links to the advertisements for all chair positions for external recruitment 

This is not applicable to KPU as our recruitments have been internal only.  

14. A section with links to the advertisements for all chair positions for internal recruitment processes 

The archived advertisement for the most recent internal (2019) competition is online at https://www.kpu.ca/research/research-chairs

15. A section with links, if applicable, to transparency statements for Tier 1 third-term nominations or emergency retention nominations

This is not applicable as KPU never had Tier 1 Chairs

16. Please note, all advertisements must meet the program’s requirements and must be publicly available on the institution’s website for at least three years 

This advertisement (See. No. 14 above) was approved by the Canada Research Chairs program as meeting their requirements.

Not applicable as KPU has fewer than 5 Canada Research Chairs.

The program, which has a total budget of $450 million, has two objectives:

• as a priority, to provide wage support to universities and health research institutions, both of which are ineligible to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), to help them retain research-related personnel funded by non-governmental sources during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic (up to $325 million) (Stages 1, 2 and 4); and
• to support extraordinary incremental costs associated with maintaining essential research-related commitments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then ramping-up to full research activities as physical distancing measures are eased and research activities can resume ($125 million) (Stage 3)

The Associate Vice-President, Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies, Dr. Deepak S. Gupta (avpr@kpu.ca) is KPU’s senior-level official responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the CRCEF program are followed and, particularly, ensuring its commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in managing CRCEF funds is integrated within the governance process. A working group is being assembled, i.e., the CRCEF Working Group, to develop strategy and devise implementation for CRCEF data collection, internal communications, and decision-making.

The Working Group membership is as follows:
•    Associate Vice-President, Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies, Dr. Deepak S. Gupta (chair) 
•    Research Services Coordinator, Catherine Parlee 
•    Manager, Financial Services, Simran Kang

The CRCEF Working Group will seek the advice of Dr. Romy Kozak, Director of Diversity and Dr. Asma Sayed, Chair Anti-Racism Task Force as needed. 
The AVPRIGS will report on the work of the CRCEF Working Group to KPU’s Senate Standing Committee on Research and Graduate Studies (SSCRGS) at meetings, held usually monthly during the academic year. The mandate, membership, meeting agendas, and minutes of SSCRGS are online and public at https://www.kpu.ca/senate/committees/research.  

The applications submitted by departments/units for CRCEF funding will be reviewed by Office of Research Services to validate and verify eligibility of the expenses. In addition, individual applicants will include an attestation outlining that the costs are eligible under the program.

Should the CRCEF funding requested exceed the amount allocated to KPU, each need will be met through a pro-rata share of CRCEF funds.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) or the University endeavors to provide learning and working environments that are inclusive and which are supportive of fair and equitable treatment of all members within its diverse community, no matter their social identity, meaning the various attributes or characteristics with which one strongly identifies and views as integral to their identity. This commitment requires the removal of unnecessary barriers to greater diversity within KPU and requires measures to support and promote inclusiveness, diversity and equity across the University. These considerations are addressed in Policy HR15 and Procedures. KPU is also a signatory to the Dimensions Charter. 
EDI principles are also embedded in the KPU’s decision-making processes for CRCEF funds. These principles are incorporated into all discussions and deliberations related to the CRCEF.  

(8a) Address how to limit the negative impact of unconscious bias and systemic barriers for both wage support and maintenance/ramp-up costs, including in cases where the need exceeds the funds provided;

1. Representation of Equity-Deserving Groups: All three members of the CRCEF Working Group at KPU members of equity-deserving groups.
2. Connection to the CRC EDI Action Plan Steering Committee: The AVPRIGS is a member of this Committee and is informed by their work on inclusive data gathering processes, communications strategies, and analysis methods.
3. Connection to the Anti-Racism Task Force: The AVPRIGS is part of this Task Force. This work has informed the CRCEF Working Group on best practices, including use of EDI terminology.
4. Unconscious Bias Training: Members of the CRCEF Working Group have or will train on the CRC module for unconscious bias in peer review. The Working Group applies an EDI lens to all process documents and decisions to minimize unconscious biases. 
5. Broad, Open, and Inclusive Communication: Information about the CRCEF Program is openly and broadly distributed to the KPU community including Today @ KPU (every employee receives this email) and through the Senate Standing Committee of Research and Graduate Studies.
6. Where needs exceed funds: Should the CRCEF funding requested exceed the amount allocated to KPU, each and every eligible application will be met through a pro-rata share of CRCEF funds.

(8b) Document safeguards to ensure that decisions are not negatively affected by a researcher’s inability to work during the pandemic due to child/family care or increased risk related to exposure to COVID-19; and

1. Inclusive Messaging: Communications will be open and the messaging with reinforce that all eligible applications are invited.
2. Avoid irrelevant considerations: Applicants will not need to spell out reasons or detailed explanation of their inability to work (including family care-giving circumstances or COVID exposure risks) on their application. Only financial information is sought, and other data or attestations to confirm eligibility.

8 (c) Address how to ensure that the decision-making values research that is non-traditional or unconventional, based in Indigenous ways of knowing, outside the mainstream of the discipline, or focused on issues of gender, race or minority status

1. Avoid irrelevant considerations. Applicants will not be asked to disclose area of research or scholarship. This ensure that the areas or approaches to research are never a consideration at the CRCEF Working Group. 

Not applicable.

A detailed overview of the method of distribution to their affiliated health research institutions in each stage of the program:

Not applicable.

Strategy for equity, diversity and inclusion decision-making in Stage 1:

An open call was sent to the university community to apply for funding in a prescribed format. Applicants also had to review the CRCEF Program Stage 1 criteria to ensure they met eligibility.

The submitted applications were reviewed by Office of Research Services personnel. Following review and feedback, the applicants confirmed eligibility and provided additional justification.

Allocated CRCEF Stage 1 funding is being distributed proportionately across all final qualified applicants.

This strategy was developed by an ad-hoc research administration team with representation from two equity seeking groups. The process documents were adapted from resources developed at Mount Saint Vincent University and used with permission. Although no peer review was required and no eligible applicant was unfunded, the team lead had previously trained on unconscious bias in peer review.

Deepak S. Gupta
Associate Vice President, Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies
Office: 604.598.8827
E-mail: avpr@kpu.ca