Call for Participants

Statistical reports on staff and students in higher education, and the Royal Society’s report, ‘A Picture of the Scientific Workforce’, show falls in the proportion of people disclosing disabilities at the following career transitions: undergraduate to postgraduate, doctoral to postdoctoral researcher, and junior academic to professor. There are also variations in the proportion of staff disclosing a disability in different STEM academic disciplines. 

As part of work to address barriers to participation and success in STEM, the Royal Society has commissioned the Careers Research & Advisory Centre (CRAC) to undertake a qualitative research project to understand the low level of disclosure of disability amongst scientists in the academic workforce, why this occurs and how it might be addressed. 

We would like to engage individuals (UK nationals and others) who work in a range of UK higher education institutions from across a range of STEM disciplines and encourage participation of individuals with a range of disabilities, conditions and learning difficulties. As well as current academic staff we would also be interested in hearing from staff working in professional services who have both a postgraduate scientific qualification and/or have experience of teaching in HE. We hope to interview participants who have disclosed a disability to their employer as well as some who have not done so. 

We understand the sensitivity of the topic and that individuals will need assurances that they will not be identifiable in the research. We will ensure that your responses will be anonymous and that you are not identifiable in any outcomes from the research. 

Interviews can take place over the phone, via Skype or in person as needed (e.g. in an accessible venue). We will endeavour to make any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate in this research. We are also happy to accept written responses should that be your preferred mode of participation. 

If you are interested in participating in this research, please respond to this brief pre-interview questionnaire which seeks some information about you so that we can select an appropriate sample of interviewees that reflects a range of characteristics and environments. There is no guarantee that we will be able to interview all who volunteer.

To find out how we will process, store and protect response data, you can read our Data Privacy Notice. 

Should you have any questions about this research, please contact Dr Rachel Handforth (rachel.handforth@crac.org.uk).