The Office of Applied Research and Innovation Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Plan 2023-27

The Office of Applied Research and Innovation is committed to mobilizing the diversity of its home province to create a rich, diverse, inclusive and impactful applied research team to benefit our partners and community members locally, regionally, and nationally.

To attain excellence in applied research and applied research training by ensuring an equitable, diverse and inclusive applied research environment. Remove systemic barriers for members of equity-deserving groups and fostering their equitable participation in the applied research ecosystem.

Our EDII applied research initiatives place a high degree of importance on:

• Research excellence
• Awareness-building
• Accountability
• Student engagement

Equity-deserving groups

• Indigenous peoples
• 2SLGBTQI+ community
• Persons with disabilities
• Visible minorities/racialized persons
• Women

Sask Polytech is committed to being a top employer for equity, diversity, inclusion and indigenization. Sask Polytech considers the diversity of our workforce to be one of our leading strengths and greatest assets. Sask Polytech recognizes that people differ in many ways, including life experience, ethnicity, religion, language, gender, physical abilities, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We acknowledge the importance of recognizing intersectional identities to prevent perpetuating systems of inequality. We strive to create an inclusive environment that nurtures and respects the diversity of our learning community.

Sask Polytech is the province of Saskatchewan’s only polytechnic and the province’s primary institution for post-secondary applied education and applied research. Sask Polytech has been named as a Saskatchewan Top Employer for seven consecutive years. One of the reasons Sask Polytech was chosen as a top employer was for the supports offered to employees throughout the various stages of life, from maternity and parental leave top-up payments to flexible work options to help balance personal and family commitments, to phased-in work options for those in the later stages of their career. With four campuses spread across the province of Saskatchewan, Sask Polytech is uniquely placed to attract and retain a diverse workforce representative of the province’s demographics. 

Accessibility Services is governed by Sask Polytech’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy (712) (pdf). Through the Education and Employment Equity Policy (705) (pdf), Sask Polytech is committed to removing systemic barriers that inhibit participation of the student body and workforce. Accessibility Services staff connect students with resources by collaborating with areas such as Enrolment Services, Learning Services, Counselling Services, Indigenous Services, Testing Services, assistive technology, program heads, faculty, the School of Continuing Education, International Education and Instructional and Leadership Development Centre (ILDC).

Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s commitments to EDII are guided by the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy map. The goals of Saskatchewan Polytechnic's Diversity and Inclusion Strategy map are to understand, embrace and embed the leading practices in diversity and inclusion in our behavior and organizational processes aligned with our strategic plan and organization values. The main guiding principles are to:

• Reflect Sask Polytech's values (Respect, integrity, sustainability, and excellence)
• Foster visible and engaged sponsorship by leaders at all levels to help champion cultural change
• Foster community engagement approaches and empower local champions and change agents
• Align resources and budget to support the implementation of diversity and inclusion strategy
• Share our practices with peers in the community and in local, national, and international conferences

The Office of Applied Research and Innovation will provide leadership in developing and fostering a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion within the applied research ecosystem. Equitable outcomes and benefits support an applied research culture by shared experiences with people from diverse backgrounds who bring new and varied perspectives.

Initiatives to develop and foster a culture of EDII within the applied research ecosystem:

• Position Sask Polytech as a top equity, diversity and inclusion employer by attracting and retaining a diverse pool of students and researchers.
  • Emphasizing hiring principles that foster equitable opportunities for applied research positions.
  • Recognizing Indigenous engagement and partnership in the applied research enterprise (from research teams, to partners, to student opportunities).
  • Identifying EDII gaps by conducting interviews, focus groups and assessments.
  • Providing opportunities for equity-deserving students to participate with applied research internships and research assistant positions.
  • Promoting the integration of equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization-related considerations in research design and practices.
  • Capitalizing on funding programs that support EDII development.
  • Engaging partners with all Sask Polytech applied research and innovation outreach activities to address EDII gaps.
  • Collecting the data and conduct the analyses needed to include equity, diversity, inclusion, and indigenization considerations in decision-making.
  • Highlighting Indigenous applied research accomplishments.
  • Fostering and building Indigenous involvement in applied research.
  • Supporting equitable access to funding opportunities for all members of the research community. 

The Office of Applied Research and Innovation will raise awareness about equity, diversity, inclusion and indigenization to make an impactful difference within the Saskatchewan Polytechnic applied research ecosystem.

Initiatives build EDII knowledge and promote a culture of positive change by:

• Leveraging Sask Polytech’s partnership with CCDI which provides access to EDII toolkits, webinars and workshops.
• Strengthening the promotion and marketing of existing EDII resources and initiatives at Sask Polytech.
• Coordinating EDII education, training and implementation initiatives aimed at researchers, student researchers and interns at Sask Polytech.
• Coordinating awareness-building learning sessions for researchers, student researchers and interns at Sask Polytech to advance employees knowledge and skills in EDII.
• Identifying EDII champions within each applied research centre.
• Providing the articulation of equity expectations within our research community.
• Creating an EDII resource repository page within the Applied Research and Innovation web page to strengthen the promotion of EDII resources, and initiatives.
• Consulting with stakeholders to identity current gaps in knowledge and awareness of EDII principles and initiatives.
• Working with Communications and marketing, develop and execute a communications plan to increase the visibility, awareness, and usage of EDII best practices internally and externally.
• Building relationships with faculty/instructors, students, staff, and others to understand current issues, barriers, and opportunities for EDII in applied research.

The Office of Applied Research and Innovation will be accountable to equity-deserving groups. OARI will support employees and students from equity-deserving groups to participate and thrive in the Sask Polytech applied research ecosystem.

Initiatives engage equity-deserving groups to participate in applied research by:

• Developing programs to encourage all representative groups to participate in applied research.
• Reviewing recruitment practices regularly to ensure that systemic barriers are identified and removed for equity-deserving groups to participate in applied research.
• Raising awareness of similarity attraction/selection bias within recruitment practices for student positions on research teams.
• Ensuring use inclusive and unbiased language in recruitment process.
• Enhancing advertising and recruitment messages/practices to reinforce Sask Polytech as a diverse and Inclusive workplace.
• Advertising applied research positions widely and through diverse channels including websites, social media and job sites visited by underrepresented groups.
• Stimulating discourse by hosting EDII focused workshops on selected topics of relevance for students, interns, and researchers.
• Strengthening professional development of equity-deserving groups through performance appraisals, coaching and professionalizing workshops.
• Engaging partners with all Sask Polytech applied research and innovation outreach activities to address EDII gaps identified in theme one.
• Collecting the data and conduct the analyses needed to include equity, diversity, inclusion and indigenization considerations in decision-making.
  • Offering students, interns, faculty and staff the opportunity to self-identify as a designated equity-deserving group at various stages of their careers to measure our success in moving towards a representative workforce.
  • Ensuring anonymity in the collection of data.

The Office of Applied Research and Innovation recognizes students as a key part of the applied research ecosystem. We will provide EDII resources, education, and training to students to support their inclusion and growth in the Sask Polytech applied research ecosystem.

Initiatives engage students to participate in applied research by:

• Ensuring the recruitment and retention of equity-deserving students to engage in applied research.
• Leveraging our relationship with the International Education office to promote applied research to international students.
  • Providing mentorship and support to international students.
• Leveraging our relationship with the Indigenous Strategy office to promote applied research to Indigenous students.
  • Providing mentorship and support to Indigenous students.
• Developing peer mentorship programs for students in equity-deserving groups.
• Funding indigenous internships and student internships.
• Supporting students from equity deserving groups to participate in the Applied Research Student Showcase.
• Developing a student training program to allow students equal participation in applied research.