Diversity in research drives innovation, uncovers new perspectives, and leads to groundbreaking discoveries that impact society. A new initiative aims to embed I-EDIAA (Indigenization - Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Anti-Racism) into the very fabric of the Queen’s research ecosystem, advancing research excellence.

Having recently launched the Bicentennial Vision, and with the Strategic Research Plan in place until 2030, Queen’s is now working to implement the Dimensions Canada recognition program within the university’s research arm. Dimensions, a flagship initiative of the Tri-Agency EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Action Plan, has been developed to assist postsecondary institutions to create a culture of critical self-reflection related to EDI, support evidence-based EDI work, and address key challenges presenting barriers to research career progression, among other goals. The Canadian Institutes of Health research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) are the entities that make up the Tri-Agency.

“Our goal is to develop a working group, a set of creative research questions, and a set of methods that help us better understand how anti-racism and diversity are put into practice across the university, and across units,” says Dr. Katherine McKittrick, co-chair of the Dimensions Data and Engagement Working Group, and Canada Research Chair in Black Studies. “It's not just about naming difference or naming multiculturalism. It's about implementing anti-racist and decolonial visions and practices and embedding them within our research projects and across units.”

The overall Dimensions Program at Queen’s is jointly stewarded by the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio and the Office of the Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion). The 32-member working group is comprised of students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and staff and co-chaired by Dr. McKittrick and Dr. Stephanie Nixon, Vice-Dean (Faculty of Health Sciences) and Director (School of Rehabilitation Therapy). The group will lead institutional self-evaluation, which will inform a five-year action plan and contribute to advancing a research community where rights holders and equity-deserving groups experience belonging, safety, and genuine opportunity. Dimensions serves as an opportunity to remove systemic barriers and, ultimately, foster a research environment where a culture of care and shared responsibility shapes how researchers work, learn, and lead.

“Representation matters, but this initiative is about more than counting people,” says Dr. Nixon. “Those metrics are nested within a broader analysis of power that strives to get to the root of the issue. Why? Because the better our diagnosis of the forces that impede equity, diversity, and inclusion, the better our chances of developing strategies to address them.”

Queen’s endorsed the Dimensions Charter in 2019, which was released following a year of consultation with colleges and universities across Canada. Meaningful dialogue with the research community is at the core of Dimensions activities and the working group will develop a strategy to ensure that ongoing engagement informs all stages of the work. Queen’s was accepted into the program in 2025.

To advance an inclusive research community, the working group is drawing on lessons from past attempts to address inequity on campus by examining those projects – the Principal's Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (PICRDI), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Task Force, and the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education – and determining how to build on that work.

“This can be a place for us to actually lay those previous attempts out and look at them, recognize where there were failures and achievements and think about how the Dimensions project provides the conditions to do something new or build on what we already do well,” says Dr. McKittrick.

In addition to evaluating previous and ongoing initiatives, the working group is conducting an institutional self-assessment which, in this cycle of Dimensions work, centres the roles of full-time and part-time faculty eligible to hold research funding; students involved in research; and post-doctoral fellows. This assessment explores evidence of barriers, assets and needs in three main areas of focus: Research Community, Research Excellence, and Institutional Administration.  

Ultimately, the goal of inserting Dimensions into the Queen’s ethos is to provide a roadmap to inclusive research strategy and facilitate excellence.

Dr. Nixon explains that research excellence, from gathering data and writing research articles to theorizing power and mentoring students, is built on diverse perspectives and knowledges. Enhancing equity requires understanding how oppressive systems operate through research infrastructure, processes, and practices while also paying attention to the rich and bold ideas that emerge through diverse collaborations.

“The path to research excellence involves our research community scaling up our insight about how intersecting systems of oppression are playing out, as designed, to produce inequities – because the impact is at direct odds with our intentions, our values, and our institutional commitments around being a fair, just, and excellent institution,” says Dr. Nixon.

When the practice of keeping diversity as a thriving component of research is embraced and nourished, it generates findings that are unbiased, robust, and impactful. Dimensions, by embedding diverse perspectives, can elevate research excellence.

For information and updates on the Dimensions initiative at the university, visit the Queen’s Research website. Members of the Queen’s community are encouraged to share their feedback, ideas, and questions with the project team by emailing dimensions@queensu.ca. An anonymous feedback form is also available on the Queen's Dimensions Project Webpage. Feedback will be accepted throughout the process of implementing Dimensions at Queen’s.