How Wellcome and DiNN Designed Support for Black-Led Research Organisations

The following is a testimonial written by Dr Faith Uwadiae, PhD

In 2023, Wellcome hosted a series of externally facilitated focus groups with leaders of volunteer-led, grassroots, Black-led organisations that support the careers and well-being of Black researchers in UK higher education. Our motivation was to understand how organisations like Wellcome can support the vital work they do to become more resilient.

We learned that while financial and non-financial support was critical, how it was delivered mattered just as much. Support is needed to consider the needs of individual initiatives, the people behind them, and the collective of initiatives, and how they work together. Support needed to be multi-year, flexible, easy to access, and culturally aware.

For us, it made sense to partner with an external organisation to deliver this. We chose Do it Now Now after a competitive procurement process because we believed they would help us deliver a successful support programme that goes beyond simply providing money, prioritising how it is given through a robust, multi-year programme, enabling us to improve the careers and well-being of academic researchers.

What made DiNN's offer unique was the level of thoughtfulness they put into the programme's design. Every time I questioned why a specific element was designed a certain way, the response was always detailed and supported by evidence showing why it would have the desired impact. From elements like the health checks during the application process (enabling organisations to grow even if unsuccessful) to the compensated capacity fund (giving funded organisations separate resources to fully engage with the programme), it gave me confidence that together we would deliver support we would be proud of.

I have been impressed by how easy DiNN are to work with. They are extremely organised and professional, which makes any collaborative relationship smooth. Plus, they are simply a lovely group of people.

Any organisation that wants to make a difference in the lives of Black people and does so in a thoughtful and equitable manner would be an ideal partner for DiNN.

Looking ahead, I would like to see more organisations within the academic system thinking about what they can do internally to improve the careers and well-being of Black researchers, so that less work is required of Black-led organisations to fill the gap left by institutional inaction.

A measurable outcome DiNN helped us achieve: a successful Round 1 launch with 261 applications from Black-led organisations across the UK.

Learn more about the programme we are delivering in collaboration with Wellcome Trust here.