We know that you may not have always felt supported and valued as members of our Crohn's and Colitis community. You may not have been offered opportunities or felt able to volunteer, take part in research, or receive funding for research. This may mean you have not lent your voice to our work.

We want to change this, so we can speak up on your behalf and fully represent your specific needs and wishes. By understanding your needs and experiences, we can support our entire Crohn's and Colitis community.

We believe that Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) can help us meet the needs of the Crohn’s and Colitis community by:

• ensuring that we are reflecting the experiences of everyone with Crohn’s and Colitis
• improving and informing the direction of our work and projects
• improving the accessibility of our information and services
• ensuring that our decisions meet the needs of our whole community

Right at the centre of this is the need to work together with those with the experiences, knowledge, and insight to make sure everyone is included in what we do.

What have we done so far?

We have spent time reflecting and are taking action to improve our approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion, starting with the following.

• We established a group of staff dedicated to championing EDI, identifying gaps, resolving issues, and improving inclusion across all parts of the charity. Workplans for each team were developed out of this, and EDI is now embedded in every staff member's objectives.
• We gather demographic data so we can identify gaps and proactively approach people and groups that are underrepresented.
• We reviewed and developed our recruitment practices to remove unconscious bias and discrimination from our recruitment and employment processes.
• We are developing publications to ensure everyone has the information they need to help manage their condition well. This includes our recently published LGBTQIA+ health with Crohn's or Colitis resource
• We are considering EDI in our funded research grants; ensuring we ask researchers about how they have considered and are supporting diversity and inclusion in their research.
• Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy was published to show our commitment to embedding EDI into all aspects of our work.
• We ask all new suppliers to provide us with their EDI policy, and we ensure that organisations we partner with include diverse voices in their work.
• We’ve worked with an anti-racism specialist and the Leadership Team have developed a strategy and actions to become an anti-racist organisation.

We will be held accountable and publish the outcomes and actions that come from this work.

What are we doing next?

​It is important for us to embed EDI into a range of activities. Here are just some of the ways we are ensuring EDI is included in our work:

• We have made efforts, and will continue to, to emphasise the experiences of the entire Crohn’s & Colitis community through the stories we share on our website and social media as well as in our campaigns and press coverage. 
• We will make our fundraising resources and promotional materials more inclusive, to ensure everyone knows they are welcome, and they can see themselves in our work.
• We will ensure that our events, whether physical or virtual, are as accessible as possible so our whole community is included and able to attend when they want to.
• We will include EDI impact assessments in our project planning. This includes sharing best practice with peers and partners, and considering EDI in all partnership working and coproduction projects.
• As we develop our new organisational strategy for 2025-2029, EDI will be a key consideration, and we will  make sure we are best supporting and representing the whole Crohn’s and Colitis community in our future plans.