Building an anti-racist culture at We The Curious.

We The Curious is a Bristol science and arts charity all about asking questions, fostering creativity and daring to experiment. Since 2020, we've worked alongside them to turn a commitment to inclusion into real, organisation-wide action, from the boardroom to every new starter.

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Background

The challenge

We The Curious recognised that science, technology, engineering and maths are sectors that haven’t always been welcoming to everyone. With a pledge to include everyone, whether working or visiting, they wanted to tackle racism head on and back their words with action. They were asking hard questions: who’s in the room, who isn’t, and what barriers need removing to achieve race equality? All of this came at a time of reopening and change, so training had to fit around stretched staff capacity.

What we did

The Aproach

We designed a bespoke anti-racism programme tailored to We The Curious. In 2022, the senior leadership team, trustees and board completed our full-day Race Ahead course, and by the end of 2023 the whole organisation had completed Race Aware+. Every learner completed pre-work to build comfort before sessions, and our instructors used group discussion, reflective exercises and case studies, alongside tools like “pause and reflect” to help reduce microaggressions and unconscious bias. Across five Race Aware+ sessions, staff built on leadership’s priorities to shape a shared Anti-Racism Action Plan.

Growth and impact

Anti-racism, built into how We The Curious works

Staff are now more confident having conversations about racism and more open to challenging ones, with spaces created where questions are expected, welcomed and answered. Awareness of privilege has grown, and anti-racism stays on the agenda through training for all new starters. Every department has committed to an inclusion goal, an Anti-Racism Taskforce with leadership and board sponsorship is driving change, and Race Equity Champions are leading activities and a staff network. Policies are changing too: bank holidays are now flexible days staff can take when it suits them, and celebrations such as Eid are marked across the whole workforce.

Key Results

What changed

Confidence discussing racism rose from 18% to 91% of staff rating themselves seven or above
Knowledge of racism in England rose from 77% to 100% rating themselves six or above
Individual pledges and an anti-racism action plan embedded in organisational KPIs
Anti-Racism Taskforce, Race Equity Champions and staff belonging network established
Every department committed to an inclusion goal
Inclusive bank holiday policy introduced for all staff

IN THEIR WORDS

"For anyone thinking of signing up – do it. Having worked in partnership with EDP for a couple of years, there is a good understanding of our context and the support provided is bespoke to our needs. We hugely value that the expertise and knowledge comes from lived experience." Samantha Jones, We The Curious"