NIHR Inclusion Survey

NIHR Inclusion Survey - Frequently Asked Questions

How will the survey findings be used?

The findings from the survey will inform the ongoing development of the Research Inclusion Strategy, as well as centre level activity, with the overall aim of making the NIHR a more inclusive place to work. 

Who can complete the survey?

We’re keen to hear from all colleagues working in NIHR coordinating centres. This includes people employed through fixed term, agency and secondment arrangements. 

What do you need to do?

Complete the survey and ensure your views are captured.

Who will see the results?

Key findings will be shared with staff and NIHR’s leadership. Responses to a subset of questions will be used to inform the NIHR Outcome Framework indicator for inclusion.

When will findings be shared?

High level key findings are aimed to be shared with staff by the autumn. Individual centres are developing their own approaches to engagement with regards to the findings and subsequent activity.

How will the confidentiality of my responses be protected?

A third party supplier is being used, People Insight. People Insight will collect and analyse all the survey data on behalf of the NIHR. At no time will you be asked for your name or email address. By using the QR code, or URL, there is no connection to you or your responses.

As part of the survey you’ll be asked some questions about where you work as well as your diversity data. We’re doing this to be able to see where things are working well or might be improved for specific groups. 

People Insight applies an additional layer of confidentiality by only sharing aggregated responses back to NIHR. They do this using strict reporting rules. Results will only be available for groups where there are ten responses or more. This is to protect respondent anonymity. 

How is the survey data broken down?  

Typically, the data will be broken down by demographics such as department, length of service and a range of others. This will target action planning where most needed. As stated above, analysis will only be provided for demographic breakdowns with ten or more responses to ensure that individual responses remain anonymous. 

Who are People Insight and why are they involved?

People Insight are employee engagement specialists. We have asked them to use their expertise to help us develop and conduct the survey. They also have extensive experience in running employee surveys with other organisations across the UK and internationally, including Higher Education Institutions.

Is the survey voluntary?

Yes. Participating in the survey allows you to express your opinions and help make a difference in your workplace. 

How long will it take to complete the survey?

There are around 50 questions in the survey. These include optional equality monitoring questions. It is really easy: you select from the multiple-choice boxes to show to what extent you agree or disagree with a number of statements, and then have the opportunity to write free text comments.

Can I save my progress in the survey?

As the survey is not linked to your personal information in any way, your progress will not be saved. This means you will need to complete the whole survey in one sitting. 

Can I amend my answers once I have submitted the survey? 

As the survey is not linked to your personal information in any way, it will not be possible to amend your responses once you have submitted the survey. 

Will the survey be repeated? 

We plan to repeat the survey in three years time, which will give useful insights into the impact of any changes made as a result of the findings. 

How will our survey be accessible to screen readers etc.?

People Insight online surveys have been developed following best practices in accessibility and web standard compliance. They follow WCAG 2.0 AA recommendations whenever possible during the development of the survey. The usability has been tested using most common readers such as Jaws, NVDA or MacOS Voiceover. However, due to the wide range of available screen readers and their frequent changes and updates, different interpretation of standards and different methods available for browsing a web page within said readers, we are unable to guarantee error free operation in all available readers and their versions.

To summarise, People Insight keep surveys as simple as possible, sticking to best practice to accommodate most readers. If you have any difficulty accessing the surveys, please get in contact with People Insight support@peopleinsight.co.uk and they can find alternative options such as telephone. Your answers will still be anonymous, and handled sensitively by People Insight.

What Privacy and GDPR policies are in place to keep my data safe?

The security of your information is important to us. All your data is private and confidential, and People Insight take all reasonable steps to ensure that your information is handled securely and in accordance with their Privacy Policy.

I have further questions, who should I contact?

If you have any issues undertaking the survey please contact People Insight support@peopleinsight.co.uk. If you have any questions about the survey contact researchinclusion@nihr.ac.uk or your local Research Inclusion Manager/Coordinator.