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ACET is committed to upholding the values of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging in our living, learning and work environments.

This page summarizes the concrete steps outlined in our EDI Action Plan that we’re taking to break down systemic barriers for underrepresented groups, including racialized individuals; African, Caribbean and Black individuals; Indigenous Peoples; persons with disabilities; women, and individuals from 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

Please note that ACET's EDI Action Plan is currently in development. It is also a living document that the ACET team will continue to update.

Identifying barriers

ACET has identified five areas where systemic barriers are most likely to appear:

1. Resistance to change and a lack of commitment from leaders
2. Inequity in hiring processes
3. Inadequate employee retention strategies
4. Overt and covert discrimination and harassment
5. Lack of accessibility (e.g. in physical spaces, conflict resolution processes, education, training and opportunities)

Taking action

Through a series of community consultations with underrepresented groups and knowledge holders, ACET identified six priority areas for taking concrete actions:

1. Transparency and accountability in research design, funding and activities, team management, and project planning and implementation. An EDI committee with representatives from ACETs five partner academic institutions will oversee the implementation of the EDI action plan, track our progress and make recommendations for improvement.
2. Recruitment and hiring processes across the core ACET team all research projects will follow an EDI-informed set of standards to ensure diversity at all levels of the organization and its operations.
3. EDI competency building will be actively promoted and supported through two types of training: a “Better Practice Circle” for leaders and a “Next Generation Hub” for students, post-doctoral fellows, scholars, and early career researchers. A curated collection of region-specific EDI, decolonization and Indigenous inclusion resources will also be available for the ACET community across all partner institutions.
4. Retention of staff from underrepresented groups will be supported by an “Inclusive Space” toolkit, a robust set of workplace accessibility standards, “Thrive Funds” for people experiencing barriers in professional developmental activities, regular meetings with partner universities to discuss retention challenges, and an annual review of retention policies and practices.
5. Discrimination and harassment prevention and intervention at ACET is guided by a code of conduct designed to build a harm-free and safe professional environment. We also offer trauma-centred support to community members who participate in ACET’s initiatives, in an effort to reconcile generational harms done to underrepresented groups by research activities in Canada.
6. Outreach programs for K-12 students will be co-created through collaborations between ACET, school districts and youth advocacy organizations, with aim to increase access for young learners interested in pursuing a career in clean energy.

Tracking Results

ACET collects quantitative and qualitative data to track the results of its EDI actions through research projects, reports, learning circles and surveys. This data is used by ACET’s Equity Diversity and Inclusion Research Officer and the EDI Committee to assess progress and make recommendations for improvement.

Contact

If you have questions about our EDI Action Plan, please email us at contactacet@uvic.ca.