Back in 2008 the CII set up the Diversity Action Group (DAG) consisting of CII staff and local institute members to advise the CII on a strategy for diversity and inclusion.
The group produced training guides for CII staff and created the Diversity Champions role - local institute members that would be trained on Diversity and operate on a regional basis to support and advise local institutes. The diversity champions were first chaired by Claire Attenborough and latterly by Colin McFarlin and operated well, delivering both process and protocol around D&I for the local institute network.
One of the groups successes was the proposal of a local institute diversity officer for each of the local institutes, a council member dedicated to D&I, this new role was rolled out in 2017; we now have 56 diversity officers operating across the UK.
The group also assisted with the delivery of the following:
- Creation and development of D&I content for Network Know-how
- Checklists around D&I for events and local institute procedures
- Presentations at regional events
- Updates on D&I at local institute council meetings
- Support at the local institute Network Conferences.
The intention was to see a smooth handover from national diversity champions to the 56 local institute diversity officers; further supported by Network Know-how. In saying that we are happy to report that Colin is now part of the Local Institute Operations Group (LIOG) with a wider remit, Colin will of course remain a champion of diversity and inclusion ensuring it is discussed at LIOG level.
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