APPG launches research project to increase diversity and inclusion 4 May 2020

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity is going ahead with a year-long research project into ‘what works’ to increase diversity and inclusion in the sector, with initial meetings taking place virtually. Co-Chair of the APPG, Baroness Deborah Bull said “this matters, because representation matters: if the workforce is skewed, then so is the message. In light of this current situation, which presents such a threat to our creative industries, we must double down on our efforts to identify ways to address this challenge.” The project’s research partners will be King’s College London, University of Edinburgh and the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (led by Nesta). The Creative Industries Federation will provide communications support and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and NBCUniversal are covering funding. Paul Hamlyn’s Chief Executive Moira Sinclair echoed the sense of urgency in pursuing the project: “there is a danger that the current crisis could perpetuate inequalities, which makes this work all the more important. If we do not act, as we re-emerge, we run the risk of being irrelevant, of losing talent and of stagnating.” Submissions of evidence-based approaches to embedding diversity can be sent to the project at [email protected]. Arts Professional, CIF