Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

The Health Foundation’s mission is to build a healthier UK. 

We are committed to building the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion into our work, who we fund and how we are run as an organisation. We want the Foundation to embody these values every day. If we don’t act, we risk people dying earlier than they should. We risk important voices and experiences being excluded from the debate. 

How are we doing this?

• Reducing health inequalities is central to our mission and strategic priorities. We conduct research and policy analysis on inequalities experienced by people from different backgrounds and the impact this has on their health. In doing so, we want to seek evidence and ideas from a diverse range of sources and people.
• We are considering how best to leverage our role as a funder by exploring how we can use our grant funding, and our grant application processes, to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion are considered in the programmes and research we fund.
• We also make a difference through how we run our organisation. We aim to be an inclusive employer, seeking to broaden the diversity of our people. We are working to ensure that our culture is fair and inclusive, values diversity and harnesses the abilities of all.

We are committed to continuing to learn about and improve how we support greater equity, diversity and inclusion. We are proud of the work we have done so far but know we have much more to do. 

Some of the actions we are taking include:

• An Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lead in place and leading our EDI strategy and plan
• Rolling out a new EDI learning and development programme across the organisation, to build a shared understanding and experience of EDI
• Committing to improving the diversity of speakers across our events, podcasts, blog posts and more
• Nurturing staff networks (such as our Black diversity network, Disability staff network and LGBTQ+ network group) to improve engagement and visibility
• Senior leaders committing to reciprocal mentoring, where they are mentored by a colleague from a minoritised background, to improve race and culture competency in leadership as they seek to remove barriers faced by underrepresented staff
• The REAL Centre continuing its partnership with Discover Economics to increase the diversity of economics students through mentoring schemes and campaigns, alongside thinking more broadly about how the organisation can support EDI within health economics.

We are looking forward to sharing our progress as we make tangible change across the organisation.

If you have any questions about equity, diversity and inclusion at the Health Foundation, please email Alyssa Ordu, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lead – Alyssa.Ordu@health.org.uk