Equality and Human Rights Commission

• Research Mailbox
• Research Database
• Religion or Belief Network
• Sexual Orientation Network

Research Mailbox

We welcome specialist internal and external research enquiries on equality issues.  If you have any such enquiries, any queries about ongoing Commission research projects or would like to request any hard copies of our research publications, please contact us at Research@equalityhumanrights.com

However, general enquiries about the Commission and our policy should be addressed to the Helpline.

Please note that we cannot:

• advise or provide information on procurement issues (but see our procurement pages);
• answer queries regarding legal issues (but you can contact the Helpline for this);
• comment on essays or questionnaires;
• fund unsolicited research requests; or
• give advice on dissertations.

Research Database

We are responsible for running the Commission's research database. This is a database of researchers, academics, and policy contacts in the UK and in other countries with an interest in equality issues and currently contains more than 2,300 members. It is used to:

• maintain an up-to-date list of contacts;
• store information about individuals' ongoing and recently published research;
• answer internal and external research inquiries; and
• send out quarterly newsletters electronically to all database members. These newsletters publicise EHRC ongoing research projects and provide summaries of our latest research publications.

We welcome new entrants to the research database. If you would like to come on to it, please contact us at Research@equalityhumanrights.com for further information about the database and to receive our most recent newsletter.

Religion or Belief Network

In early 2010, we established a Religion or Belief Network for those interested in research on religion or belief issues from an equalities or human rights perspective. The network aims to:

• promote links and partnerships with people and organisations interested in undertaking research on religion or belief issues;
• facilitate dissemination of information;
• organise research focused meetings and conferences;
• facilitate research collaboration;
• investigate funding for new research; and
• provide a platform for debate and discussion on critical issues in order to influence policy and change.

We are sending out a bulletin to network members on a regular basis to share information on current issues, and aid us in meeting the aims of the network outlined above. The most recent bulletin was sent out in November 2010 and we anticipate sending out three bulletins in 2011.

We welcome new entrants to the Religion or Belief Network. If you would like to come on to it to receive future bulletins, please contact us at Research@equalityhumanrights.com for further information. 

Sexual Orientation Network

In April 2009, stakeholders at a roundtable event identified a need to establish a GB-wide sexual orientation research network. It was established by the Commission in May 2009.

The network is co-ordinated by Sue Botcherby, and supported by Quinn Roache.

The membership is increasing. To date, there are over 60 external stakeholders who are members, including academics, researchers and third sector representatives. Commission staff are active in the network, through providing information, attending events and working alongside external stakeholders.

The network:

• promotes links and partnerships with people and organisations interested in undertaking research on sexual orientation;
• facilitates dissemination of research findings and information;
• organises research focussed meetings and conferences;
• facilitates research collaboration;
• identifies areas and topics of new research;
• investigates funding for new research, and
• provides a platform for debate and discussion on critical issues in order to influence policy and change.

Work to date:

• 6 network bulletins have been produced and disseminated (See the latest bulletin 6)
• 8 seminars have been facilitated:
  1. Jeffrey Weeks - The lgb journey – how far have we come and how far to go?
  2. Chris Creegan - The need for progressive SO evidence and new narratives
  3. Sam Dick/Ruth Hunt - Homophobic hate crime
  4. William O'Connor- Impact of SO legislation
  5. Gill Valentine - Experiences of LGBT staff/students in HE
  6. Liz McDermott – Researching and monitoring young people’s sexual orientation
  7. Chris Creegan and Michael Keating – Improving sexual orientation monitoring
  8. Richard Ward, Steve Pugh and Liz Price – Improving health and social care services for older LGB users

The presenters of seminars 6, 7 and 8 have developed the themes into ‘thinkpieces’ and these will be published in December 2010.

3 seminar summaries have been published:

1. Sue Botcherby and Chris Creegan - Moving forward: putting sexual orientation in the public domain
2. Sam Dick - Homophobic hate crime and hate incidents
3. Gill Valentine and Nichola Wood - The experiences of LGB staff and students in HE

[These summaries can be downloaded from the Beyond Tolerance research section]

Join the network

We are keen to develop and expand the network. If you would like more information, or you are interested in joining the network, please contact Sue Botcherby . In your email please ensure that your contact details, position and institution (and website if available) are detailed. Please also summarise your research interests.