Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team and Working Groups
The Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (SAT) is a group of individuals from across NDM who meet once a term and are tasked with furthering our Athena SWAN work, driving change and promoting equality and diversity across the Department.
Restructure from ASSA team to SAT
During 2010 we established 5 Athena SWAN Self-Assessment (ASSA) teams, one in each of the main administrative units within the department. On the basis of a consultation in 2015, the groups have been merged into one team during the early part of 2018. A centralised Self-Assessment Team (SAT) will aid with consistency of approach across NDM and aid target directed action, whilst representation from each of the key Units will ensure we maintain sensitivity to the needs of individual Units. The restructure also provides us with the opportunity to ensure gender balance on the panel. To engage key individuals with the appropriate skills and knowledge to maintain good progress on specific time-limited projects and maintain breadth and depth of involvement of staff and students across NDM we have established a formalised structure of working groups for specific projects, to report into the SAT.
NDM Working Group and SAT Policy (March 2018)
What is the role of the SAT?
The SAT’s primary purpose is to aid the Athena SWAN initiative by contributing to the action plan process and ensuring its implementation. To ensure a broad range of experiences and knowledge are drawn upon, NDM’s Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (SAT) is gender balanced, has representatives from each of the key administrative Units of NDM, a student representative and individuals from a range of staff types and career levels. The Working Groups report to the SAT, making recommendations and proposing action. The SAT meets termly, and reports to the Senior Management Committee within NDM, who provide strategic direction. The membership of the SAT will be reviewed on an annual basis, ensuring workload of it’s members is considered and representation remains diverse.
Experimental Medicine |
Tropical Medicine and Global Health |
Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics |
ORCRB | NDMRB/BDI (TDI) |
Students | NDMS – Athena SWAN |
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Dr Philippa Matthews
Dona Foster |
Mr Ed Gibbs
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Mrs Sue Wilson
Miss Thea Perry Mr David Bartle |
Dr Pedro Moura Alves | Professor Lisa White
Professor Fraydoon Rastinjad |
Dr Andrés Noé | Mrs Claire Worland |
What is the role of the Working Groups?
As a part of the Athena SWAN assessment process, an Action Plan has been developed, and key projects identified. 8 Working Groups have been established in the first instance to investigate the areas under review and propose forward action. The Working Groups report to the SAT.
2018 Structure of the SAT and Working Groups
Express your views and provide feedback
Consultation with the members of the Department will continue to be conducted through surveys, focus groups, target-orientated interviews, committees, student open information sessions, and working groups. We will continue to adapt our current initiatives and develop new ones on the basis of the feedback received, and our surveys will be targeted to inform our understanding of the issues under review during each year. We would urge you to provide your feedback and inform our initiatives by completing the Staff and Student Surveys. The results from these surveys also provide us with essential data for our Athena SWAN application, which is renewed as Awards expire every 4 years.
We have a dedicated e-mail for you to share your views and ideas. Circulars and notices will continue to be used to communicate Athena SWAN activity with staff and students throughout the process; in the form of a termly newsletter, e-mails, posters, leaflets, and table-top signs in each communal or canteen areas.
We will continue to provide updates, guidance, links to resources, information and seek feedback on these dedicated Working for NDM and Athena SWAN website pages.
Working Groups Update
Nov 2019 – We are now half way through our current Athena SWAN action plan period (Nov 2017 – Nov 2021), which was developed as part of the Athena SWAN assessment and award application process (submitted in Nov 2017). The Action Plan contains 61 individual targets and we have had 8 specific project-based Working Groups working hard to tackle some of the key areas identified within that action plan. Most of these teams have conducted further targeted research, have submitted their recommendations and the projects are now at the implementation phase.
A summary of the recommendations that have been put forward can be seen below.
Working Group | Summary of Recommendations |
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1. Managers Toolkit |
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2. PDR |
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3. Redeployment Resource |
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4. Grant Support |
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5. Coaching Scheme |
The Working Group arranged a Coaching Event which was held in March 2019 to help raise awareness of the POD (formally OLI) run scheme, which was launched in 2018, and promote its benefits.
NDM funded 3 individuals for the OLI subsidized places on the Oxford Brookes Workplace Coach Programme, starting in 2019, on the basis of the Working Group recommendations. Recommendations:
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6. Transparency of Decision Making |
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7. Career Talks and Events |
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8. Career Development Resources |
Strategic Direction
Professor Chris Conlon, Interim Head of Department
Darren Nash, Associate Head of Department (Academic Support and Finance)
Support for SAT and Working Groups
Elena McPhilbin, NDM Head of Human Resources
Claire Worland, NDM Athena SWAN Coordinator