Race Equality Delivery Group

Terms of reference

1. Purpose

The Race Equality Delivery Group (REDG) exists to drive the university’s ambition to become an anti-racist organisation. This includes leading work to deliver structural and systemic change that embeds race equity and inclusion into everyday practices, decision-making, and institutional culture.

2. Role and Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, transparency, accountability, and shared ownership for delivery of the Race Equality Charter (REC) Action Plan.
• Maintain strategic oversight of cross-university race equality work.
• Monitor progress against the REC Action Plan and provide regular updates to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDIC), Vice-Chancellor’s Executive Group (VCEG), Staff and students, Board of Governors
• Act as a Programme Board to review progress against the REC Action Plan, identify risks and opportunities, agree and monitor mitigating actions.
• Review institutional race equality data annually (qualitative and quantitative) annually for both staff and students to evaluate the impact of REC related activity.
• Lead and oversee regular communication and engagement with staff and students, particularly Minority Ethnic communities to inform and shape the delivery of the race equality action plan.
• Act as an advisory body on race equality issues and support engagement and consultation with staff and students.
• Collate annual evidence demonstrating improvements in experiences and outcomes for Minority Ethnic staff and students, supporting the renewal of the institutional REC award (target: 2029–30).
• Ensure delivery of the REC Action Plan is aligned with and reinforces the University of Bedfordshire’s Leadership Framework, embedding expectations for inclusive leadership, accountability, and anti-racist practice across all levels of the institution.

3. Membership

• Unji Mathur – Chief People Officer (Chair)
• Andrew Church – Pro VC Research and Innovation / Executive sponsor for race (Vice Chair)
• Julie Brunton - PVC Education and Student Experience
• Ruth Bourne - University Secretary and Registrar
• Steve Briggs - Director of Learning, Teaching and Libraries
• Ruki Heritage - Director of Student Experience
• Ulrika Meegola - Associate Director of Communications
• Yasmin Ahmed -Head of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
• Angela Johnson – Assistant Director, OD, Culture and Inclusion
• Saran MacIntosh – Assistant Director HR Operations
• Carly Ramirez-Herelle – Interim Chair - Race Equality Network (REN) (Chair/Co-Chair)
• Chris Marshall – Dean UBBS
• Professor Nasreen Ali - Professor of Public Health Equality and Talk, Listen, Change (TLC) Workforce Research Programme Lead
• Banke De-Marro - Senior Academic Partnerships Manager, Centre for Academic Partnerships
• Beds Student Union representative (TBC)

Additional Members (as required)

• First-tier action owners in both academic and professional services involved in delivery of the REC Action Plan
• Head of HR Business Systems

4. Membership Criteria

• Have clear responsibility for delivery, or influence over, areas of the REC Action Plan
• Commit to active participation, including attendance and follow-up on agreed actions
• Have formally agreed time allocation for REDG responsibilities (e.g. via PDR objectives or workload planning)

5. Meeting frequency, structure and conduct

• Meetings will take place once per term (three times per academic year)
• Quorum: Minimum 50% of core members, including either the Chair or Deputy Chair
• Meetings will focus on delivery, risk management, and impact

6. Reporting and accountability

• Provide regular updates to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDIC), VCEG and staff and students
• Produce an annual update on work on REC Action Plan delivery, including progress and key achievements, risks and challenges and recommendations for action or resources to share with staff, students, VCEG and Board of Governors.