Guiding Principles Overview

1. What are our Guiding Principles? 

The ACCESS programme has three Guiding Principles:  

1. Environmental Sustainability (ES) 
2. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) 
3. Knowledge Co-production (KCP)   

These three principles play two key roles within ACCESS.  Firstly, to act as a common, intertwined, thread running through, and stitching together, different parts of the programme. Secondly, to inform, shape and guide all ACCESS activities. 

2. Why are these Guiding Principles important? 

Successfully tackling climate and environmental challenges – such as biodiversity loss, sustainable use of resources, and decarbonisation – will only be achieved if we actively include diverse voices in both the design and delivery of solutions and if we reduce the environmental impacts of our own research practices.  

3. Who produced these Guiding Principles and who are they for?

The ACCESS Guiding Principles team, with input from the wider ACCESS community, have been responsible for defining and articulating the programme’s Guiding Principles Version 4 (Versions 1-3 formed draft and consultation versions, with Version 4 being the first public iteration of the Guiding Principles).  They have been developed in the first instance to guide the activities of all those working on the ACCESS programme and/or those who form part of the wider ACCESS community.   

However, we also hope these Guiding Principles will be of interest and use more broadly across the wider Environmental Social Science research, policy and practice communities.  Lessons learnt from putting these principles into practice by those involved in ACCESS and beyond will be used to collectively reflect upon and refine the Guiding Principles and the processes of how and when to implement them.  As such, successive versions will be more widely co-produced.  

4. When should these principles be incorporated into ACCESS-related activities?   

It is our ambition that those working on the ACCESS programme and/or those who form part of the wider ACCESS community will embed ES, EDI and KCP considerations and practices into their ACCESS-related activities, and where possible, in work-related activities beyond ACCESS.  The principles of ES, EDI and KCP should be embedded into ACCESS activities at the earliest opportunity and on an ongoing basis.  We recognise that doing so will be challenging and take additional time, effort and resources. This additional time needs to be planned for, particularly for initial attempts to change practices.   

5. How might these Guiding Principles be incorporated into ACCESS-related activities? 

These pages have been developed to take those working on the ACCESS programme and/or those who form part of the wider ACCESS community, through the process, step-by-step, of how to incorporate these principles into ACCESS activities.  In developing the Guiding Principles, we have been keen to ensure they are not too restrictive or prescriptive.  These pages should not, therefore, be viewed as a rule book – rather they are intended to act as a gentle prompt to think and do things a bit differently.  We hope these pages can help ACCESS colleagues and ACCESS community members to orientate and navigate what can be new and challenging terrain. 

The 3 Guiding Principles

The stated ambition for ACCESS is that all our work and activities across the programme will be informed and shaped by three fundamental, Guiding Principles.  These are:

• Environmental Sustainability (ES);
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI); and
• Knowledge Co-production (KCP). 

While each of these three principles has its own set of individual, distinct features or core elements (see below), often they are inextricably intertwined. 

Issues of equity and justice, for example, are at the heart of environmental sustainability, and the inclusion of diverse perspectives through knowledge co-production is critical for delivering successful, environmentally sustainable solutions. 

Our specific aims within ACCESS are to: 

• Embed environmental sustainability considerations into our practices and decision making, to maximise co-benefits for our research and the environment 
• Foster a safe, welcoming and inclusive culture across ACCESS, by promoting equality and valuing diversity, to protect the rights and dignity of all our colleagues, partners and stakeholders, and ensure everyone feels valued for who they are  
• Adopt and promote a knowledge co-production approach that involves partnership and collaboration between academic researchers and other knowledge holders in the design, generation, and dissemination of research designed to address environmental problems  

• Take all three Guiding Principles into account in our decision-making and practice, identifying and learning from points of synergy and tension 
• Outline a process that leads to the adoption of new ways of thinking and doing, and the incorporation of the Guiding Principles of ES, EDI and KCP across the ACCESS programme and beyond 

Environmental Sustainability – Core Elements

• Environmental Sustainability, in the context of environmental social science (ESS) research practice, means focusing – as a primary consideration – on minimising negative environmental impact and maximising environmental benefit  
• Ways of working that are Environmentally Sustainable will aim, wherever possible, to derive co-benefits for ESS researchers, administrative units and wider civil society, incorporating climate-ecological, social, economic, cultural and personal wellbeing advantages  
• Environmental Sustainability considerations should be a positive identifiable element of the professional conduct and development of ESS researchers and administrative units  
• Environmental Sustainability considerations will need to be cognisant of and aligned to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations, to ensure equal access to opportunities   
• Policies for promoting Environmental Sustainability should be co-produced to maximise benefit to all concerned 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – Core Elements

• Under the Equality Act 2010 it is against the law to discriminate against someone because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation 
• In our work in ACCESS we are committed to upholding the Equality Act, as well as avoiding exclusion or discrimination on the basis of other personal characteristics (e.g., class background, income, physical or mental health) as well as professional characteristics (e.g., career stage, discipline, sector) 
• ‘Equality’ means discrimination should be eliminated and increasing equality of opportunity ensured. It means that people should be treated the same way, regardless of individual difference 

• The principle of ’Equity’ goes further and should guide Environmental Social Science (ESS) research and practice. This means recognizing that each person has different circumstances and that targeted allocation of resources and opportunities may be needed to reach an equal outcome 
• ‘Diversity’ is concerned with representation. Colleagues, partners and stakeholders should be valued for the different backgrounds and perspectives they have to offer 
• ‘Inclusion’ means creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and is able to participate, which may involve reflecting on how we can proactively make reasonable adjustments to our usual processes. Inclusive environments often benefit everyone 
• In the USA it is common to refer to DEIJ: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice. Ensuring our approach is just means ensuring that both processes and outcomes are fair.

Knowledge Co-Production – Core Elements

• Knowledge Co-Production (KCP) involves the sharing of both information and power in the production of new knowledge 
• KCP should open-up key research decisions to a broader range of actors, knowledge and perspectives to substantively improve research both in terms of efficacy and impact 
• KCP often requires new ways of thinking about expertise and interests. Partners should be ‘knowledge-holders’ rather than ‘stake-holders’ 

• KCP is an iterative, flexible, and reflexive process that should involve risk taking and experimentation.   
• KCP should be adequately resourced, allocating time and budget resources to specified activities, interactions, and engagement.  Recognise the value of building relationships and networks 
• KCP should begin “upstream” in the research process so it can impact research questions and trajectories  
• However, it is never too late to start KCP. For projects at later stages, try co-authoring an academic paper or organising a workshop with partners – these activities may lead to more robust and upstream KCP in future projects 

Guiding Principles – Commonalities 

Environmental Sustainability (ES), Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), and Knowledge Co-Production (KCP) share a set of common characteristics and operational principles, for example:  

• ES, EDI, and KCP challenge business as usual and require new ways of thinking and doing ​ 

• ES, EDI, and KCP should be central considerations in all ACCESS activities​ 
• Individuals, administrative units and whole organisations all have a role to play in reflecting on and changing their practices 
• ES, EDI and KCP considerations are contextual and require the use of both appropriate evidence and judgement ​ 
• Environmental Social Science researchers and administrative units should lead in developing and implementing good practice to promote ES, EDI and KCP practices in their academic research ​and – where feasible – within their organization 
• ES, EDI and KCP considerations, and associated policies and actions, are dynamic and evolving, requiring regular personal and collective reflection on practice  

Further resources

For signposts to academic literature and further resources for each of the three Principles, click here