Accelerating diversity, equity, and inclusion goals: a qualitative assessment from the lens of scientists at the 2020 Clinical Translational Science Awards Annual Meeting

Abstract

Participants in the leadership breakout session at the Clinical Translational Science Awards (CTSA) virtual 2020 conference discussed and ranked six recommendations in terms of feasibility, impact, and priority for advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts to elevate underrepresented populations to leadership positions in CTSAs and their broader institutions. A thematic analysis of chat and polling data identified challenges and opportunities to achieve DEI goals, with the three most promising recommendations as: cross-institutional Principal Investigator (P.I.) action-learning workgroups, transparent policies for recruiting and promoting underrepresented minorities (URM) leadership, and a clear succession plan to nurture and elevate URM leaders. Suggestions are made to improve DEI in CTSA leadership and allow for greater representation in the translational science field.

Keywords: Evaluation metrics; institutional culture; racism; structural change; underrepresented minorities.

Fig. 1.

Priority ranking of six recommendations presented. Recommendation C (“Develop transparent policies, qualifications, applications and selection process for leadership roles”) = Priority #1; Recommendation A (“Identify a cross institutional P.I. action-learning workgroup committed to structural change in translational leadership to benchmark, design, test, and disseminate structural interventions to increase diversity in translational science leadership”)= Priority #2; Recommendation D (“Define a clear succession plan to cultivate BIPOC leaders into P.I. roles in translational science”)= Priority #3; Recommendation F (“Make room for structural change in DEI efforts by giving over space, influence, and resources - including leadership positions with commensurate salary - to scientists who have demonstrated their commitment to such work”)= Priority #4; Recommendation B (“Define a target of at least 30% of leaders (P.I.s/Core Directors) of translational science awards are women and 30% of the leaders are Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Develop a common metric and dashboard with regular reporting on diversity in CTSA leadership”)= Priority #5; Recommendation E (“Set a time limited goal (e.g. 90 days) to diversify the leadership, providing new leaders with the resources and authority to do the job they have been hired to do”)= Priority #6.