Inclusive Research Teams Workshop
Inclusive research teams drive stronger, more innovative, and more equitable science. When researchers with diverse backgrounds, identities, and expertise can fully participate and be heard, teams generate richer questions, more rigorous methods, and findings that better reflect the complex communities research aims to serve.
Presented by the Toronto Initiative for Diversity and Excellence (TIDE) in collaboration with the Office of Inclusion and Diversity, this 2-hour workshop explores practical, evidence‑informed strategies for creating inclusive, high‑performing research environments. Drawing on insights gathered from CRCs and research staff across U of T and other contexts, TIDE highlights common challenges and offers concrete approaches to fostering equitable and effective team dynamics, communication, and collaboration.
This session includes:
- An interactive talk with live Q&A
- Break-out group discussion of scenarios that illustrate typical ways in which bias may manifest during recruitment and assessment (with TIDE facilitators)
Virtual event delivered via Zoom.
Learning outcomes
- Deepen your understanding of EDI within the current university and medical landscape.
- Evaluate your current team practices and policies to identify where inequities may occur across roles, identities, and career stage.
- Reflect on how to implement inclusive improvements to the structure and day‑to‑day operations of your research teams.
- Identify promising practices for research group inclusion and interpersonal interactions.
Who should attend?
- research faculty (including CRCs)
- postdoctoral fellows
- graduate students
- research support staff
About the facilitator
Fiona Rawle has a PhD in Pathology and Molecular Medicine and is a Professor, Teaching Stream, in the Deptartment of Biology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Her research focuses on bias in STEM, science misinformation, the science of learning, and public communication of science. She has received numerous awards focused on teaching, including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship. Dr. Rawle is the Director of Operations for the Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence, through which she gives lectures and workshops on unconscious bias, equity, and diversity.
About TIDE
Founded in 2016, the Toronto Initiative for Diversity and Excellence (TIDE) is a grassroots service group consisting of University of Toronto faculty members and librarians from across disciplines who volunteer their time to support action on diversity and inclusion through research-informed, peer-to-peer education and knowledge translation.