Field Inclusive Receives $37K Grant from Burroughs Wellcome Fund
January 1, 2024 | FIELD INCLUSIVE
For immediate release
Contact:
Lauren D. Pharr; laurenpharr@fieldinclusive.org
Field Inclusive; fieldinclusive@gmail.com
Through various conversations with employees, students, early professionals, various societies, and universities, it became evident that many lack and are unaware of the social field safety policies needed to be put in place for those who professionally work outdoors, and in particular, are often unaware that marginalized students face additional barriers to professionally working outdoors. With the production of these modules, this can finally change!
Field Inclusive (FI) is proud to announce that Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) has granted the organization $37,000.00. This generous grant will enable FI to continue the mission to provide tangible and actionable improvements in the natural resources by addressing social field safety issues related to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). FI seeks to support all field biologists in the natural sciences through identifying and addressing field safety issues, developing field safety resources, and supporting marginalized researchers through financial aid and experiential learning opportunities.
The funds from this grant will be used to develop online social field safety training modules which will improve social awareness of the history of marginalized and historically excluded individuals, historic relationships, and how that impacts current scientific practices; identify possible situations and interactions that could happen to individuals, and in particular marginalized and historically excluded individuals, while professionally working in the outdoors; and finally, provide resources and discussing solutions to help organizations and institutions with individuals, and in particular marginalized and historically excluded individuals, who professionally work in the outdoors.
“FI is ecstatic to see our visions continuing to become a reality,” says Lauren D. Pharr, FI’s Chief Financial Officer, Co-Founder, and PI on the grant. “Through various conversations with employees, students, early professionals, various societies, and universities, it became evident that many lack and are unaware of the social field safety policies needed to be put in place for those who professionally work outdoors, and in particular, are often unaware that marginalized students face additional barriers to professionally working outdoors. With the production of these modules, this can finally change!” FI is also hopeful that these modules will serve as a resource for meeting proposal and grant requirements — such as NSF’s Safe and Inclusive Working Environment requirement –when it comes to providing experiences in creating safe and inclusive spaces in labs, and workspaces.
“The Fund is committed to nurturing diversity initiatives that support scientists to thrive and shine in scientific exploration,” says Mandeep Sekhon, co-director of BWF’s Science Communication program. “These resources will assist organizations and institutions with individuals, and in particular marginalized and historically excluded individuals, who work in natural science fieldwork.”
Special thanks to: Caren Cooper, Associate Professor at North Carolina State University, for initiating this connection to BWF.
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Since 2022, Field Inclusive strives to provide tangible and actionable improvements in the natural resources by addressing social field safety issues related to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). We seek to support all field biologists in the natural sciences through identifying and addressing field safety issues, developing field safety resources, and supporting marginalized researchers through financial aid and experiential learning opportunities.
For more information, please visit https://www.fieldinclusive.org/ or connect with Field Inclusive on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter (X).
ABOUT BURROUGHS WELLCOME FUND:
Burroughs Wellcome Fund makes grants primarily to degree-granting institutions on behalf of individual researchers. To complement these competitive award programs, BWF also makes grants to nonprofit organizations conducting activities intended to improve the general environment for science.
BWF believes that a diverse scientific workforce is essential to the process and advancement of research innovation, academic discovery, and public service.
For more information, please visit https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/ or connect with NCSG on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (X).