Written by Japheth Monzon, our Project Officer and Co-author of the Charter.
On Wednesday, the 22nd of May 2024, BSWN and the University of Bristol launched ‘The Three-Legged RACE Approach: Charter on Co-Production through an Anti-Racist Lens,’ marking the culmination of a two-year partnership under the Research Action Coalition for Race Equality (RACE). This partnership aimed to create an ecosystem that improved access to racial disparity data for Black and Minoritised communities and facilitated equitable and anti-racist research practices.
The Charter Launch was hosted in the Arts Complex on the Clifton Campus of the University of Bristol. With the support of the University of Bristol Events Team and the Brigstow Institute, BSWN saw the event space filled with academics and community advocates alike – all of whom were united in their interest in anti-racist co-production research practices.
Photo taken after attendees took their seats for the the Charter on Co-Production through an Anti-Racist Lens.
One primary strand of RACE was the creation of a Charter that promoted good practice in the co-produced interactions of academic researchers and Racially Minoritised community members. This arose from the launch of RACE in 2021, where attendees shared their experiences with academic researchers. Unsurprisingly, a majority of these experiences were exploitative. As a result, considerable interest was generated for a Charter that taught academic researchers how to co-produce research with Black and Minoritised communities that is both anti-racist in its practice and equitable in all its aspects.
To support Principal Investigator Professor Saffron Karlsen (University of Bristol) and research associate Angelique Retief (our Senior Policy Officer) in creating this Charter, two RACE interns were onboarded as part of the University’s ‘Bristol Model’ — Japheth (Jeff) Monzon and Hibo Warsame. After three visioning sessions with numerous collaborators, our Charter was produced containing several underpinning values that are central to co-produced practice and three toolkits providing practical guidance on how to conduct anti-racist co-produced research with Black and Minoritised communities.
Photo of Professor Palie Smart providing an open address to the launch to attendees.
Our launch began with Dr Barbara Brown, BSWN Associate and Trustee, welcoming attendees as the event host and facilitator. Following this, Professor Palie Smart (Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Civic Engagement) provided an opening address on behalf of the University of Bristol on the importance of equitable and anti-racist research practices in academic research. Her presence as lead for Global Civic Engagement provides considerable merit towards the University’s dedication to the Charter and its principles. She stated:
“We produce knowledge to use it…there is a shared ambition to shift… we need to work on how our partnerships are more equitable…we’re talking about change beyond our institution, but collaboratively, we can move things forward.”
After Professor Palie Smart’s opening address, the Launch moved onto Professor Saffron Karlsen’s and Sado Jirde’s (our Director) portion, in which they discussed in-depth the partnership between the University of Bristol and BSWN through RACE. Moreover, Sado powerfully outlined the perspectives of Black and Minoritised community members and their negative experiences with academic research of their communities. Indeed, this only showcases a greater need for the Charter, its principles, and its toolkits. Sado said:
“The product of anti-racist research is anti-racist knowledge production…the charter presents both a roadmap and toolkit…it is an approach that can rebalance the power…”
Professor Saffron Karlsen provided a perspective from the academic researcher’s side, particularly on how research can lead to actionable outcomes that benefit the world. Professor Saffron Karlsen stated: “...the product of anti-racist research is anti-racist knowledge production…the charter presents both a roadmap and toolkit…it is an approach that can rebalance the power…”
Photo taken during panel discussion, (left to right) Sado Jirde, Jeff Monzon, Professor Palie Smart (on screen), Jendayi Serwah, and Dr Neo Pule.
Following this, Japheth Monzon our Project Officer and Co-author of, did a presentation on the Charter. The audience was provided a rundown on the context of the Charter, the methodologies used throughout the process, our key findings, the key principles that underpin the Charter, and the toolkits themselves, which contain actionable recommendations on how to begin conducting anti-racist research co-produced with Black and Minoritised communities. Japheth then joined Professor Palie Smart, Sado Jirde, and Charter collaborators Dr Neo Pule and Jendayi Serwah in a panel discussion reflecting their experiences with the Charter and co-production in general. The panellists were asked what they would do to keep the Charter alive, with Japheth responding: “As an individual at the very start of my academic career, I would spread the word of the Charter and its principles to those in a similar position as me, to ensure that such anti-racist research principles are embedded into the next generation of scholars.” Moreover, the panellists were asked what key thing to take away from this entire process, with Jendayi powerfully calling for “accountability”, particularly “internal accountability” to be a central aspect of the research process.
Photo of Vice Chancellor Professor Evelyn Welch (left) and Dr Barbara Brown closing the event.
The Charter Launch concluded with closing remarks from both Debbie Watson and Vice-Chancellor Professor Evelyn Welch. Debbie Watson of the Brigstow Institute – who supported the Charter Launch – announced that the Brigstow Institute is looking to integrate the Charter and its principles into its internal funding processes as an institute that focuses primarily on co-production. Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, was present for the entirety of the Charter Launch, and provided the closing remarks in which she provided thanks to all those involved in RACE and the Charter. The event closed with food from Kate’s Kitchen and plentiful networking among attendees!