Unlocking JIC’s Neurodiversity: An introduction to our Understanding, Valuing and Celebrating Neurodiversity project

On the brick wall beside the entrance to the John Innes Centre reception, there is a white plaque featuring the JIC logo. Underneath the blue squares and name, you will find three words that sum up the mission of the organisation: Unlocking Nature’s Diversity. 

We value diversity in nature for many reasons – sustainability, performance, resilience, untapped potential – and biodiversity is a theme running through our research. 

But just as important as the biodiversity that is a focus of our work is the human diversity that is the nature of our organisation. The John Innes Centre is committed to being an equal and inclusive organisation that celebrates diversity in all its forms, and that includes Neurodiversity. 

Neurodiversity describes the naturally occurring differences between human brains. Whilst there is a huge range within that diversity, there are commonly occurring ‘Neurotypes’ which tend to share certain traits. About 80% of people are ‘Neurotypical’ and 20% are ‘Neurodivergent’ in one or more ways (such as ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Tourette’s/Tic Syndromes, etc). 

The John Innes Centre is a Neurodiverse organisation, with approximately 90 Neurodivergent members of staff, as well as Neurotypical staff, many of whom will have Neurodivergent children, siblings and friends. 

We have been awarded a BBSRC Connecting Culture grant to deliver a one-year project to accelerate our efforts to understand, value and celebrate Neurodiversity. The purpose of this project is to raise awareness, training and network development activity which will benefit all BBSRC supported institutes. In doing so, we are aiming to Unlock JIC’s Neurodiversity. This initiative is being led by Dr Clare Stevenson, Head of Directorate, and Leah Milner-Campbell, Neurodiversity Project Officer.

Over the next year, we’ll be creating: 

  • Internal Communications and Awareness: We will run a series of events and internal communications pieces highlighting different aspects of Neurodiversity for our staff and students. One event will focus on mental health and Neurodiversity, accompanied by the addition of sensory-regulating items to our on-site Wellbeing suite. Another event will explore Neuroinclusive communications. 
  • External Communications and Awareness: We will create blogs (like this one), videos, and social media content that demonstrates the action we are taking to understand, value and celebrate Neurodiversity, and contribute to an increased awareness and understanding of Neurodiversity in academia and STEM. 
  • A Neurodiversity Network: We will explore options and support the development of a staff and student Neurodiversity network. We will connect to, and learn from, similar networks in UK academia, especially fellow BBSRC-supported institutes. 
  • Bespoke Neurodiversity Training: We will develop and deliver a range of bespoke training materials (with academia/science in mind) including an e-learning modular training package and, time permitting, a Neurodiversity Champions programme.  

We would love to hear from other organisations, particularly others in academia/research, who have done any of the above. We want to learn from your experience. Equally if you’ve been inspired by the ideas in this project and want to connect and learn from our experience, please get in touch. 

We’re sharing our plans publicly because we’re proud that we’re taking action that backs up our commitment to diversity in all forms. We’ll be sharing our ideas and the actions we’ve taken over the next 10 months, so watch this space for more. 

If you have ideas to share or questions to ask, you can reach our Neurodiversity Project Officer Leah at Leah.Milner-Campbell@jic.ac.uk. 

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