Question 3 – The brief background to the practice
Guidance to support the completion of question 3 of the Equality Impact Assessment template
The guidance and examples on this page are part of a set of guidance designed to support you in completing an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) template.
Please visit the Equality Impact Assessment webpage for more information.
Guidance for Question 3
When detailing the background of a practice in an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA), it is helpful to summarise how it originated. Highlight the issues or needs it is aiming to address, referencing any relevant context, research, policy decisions, or organisational goals.
Include relevant evidence (take a ‘proportionate’ approach) from consultations and stakeholder engagements, such as surveys, focus groups, and public feedback. Summarise findings from any preliminary equality assessments or pilot studies to illustrate the practice's anticipated impact.
Identify any gaps in the existing data or feedback, and specify additional evidence needed to support the assessment. This might involve collecting more quantitative data or engaging with under-represented groups. Consultation enables:
- Perspectives to be gathered from diverse groups, including those directly affected by a proposed practice
- Identifying potential impacts that may not be evident through data alone
- Ensuring inclusivity and understanding
- Enhancing trust and legitimacy of the process
The University collects, analyses, reports and publishes staff and student data related to protected characteristics to help us assess the impact of our policies and practices on equality and good relations (for example, the annual EDI Report, Breaking Barriers: EDI in Academic Career Progression at the University of Oxford). For further details of data sources, please see the EDU website.
Staff with a genuine business need (typically within HR/EDI functions) have access to University diversity dashboards at a Divisional and departmental level. Contact your local team for further information.
Departments may also have published Athena SWAN applications, which will include extensive data showing the staffing and student profiles of their departments. EDI-related reports and data and staff survey data may all be helpful sources.
You will require a Tableau account in order to access the majority of these reports. Please contact SDMA (sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk) in order to set up an account. In most cases, access will only be given to individuals nominated by their college or department due to the sensitive nature of much of the information.
| Annual Programme Statistics by level of study | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
|---|---|
| Equality – On-course students | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| Equality – Undergraduate admissions | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| Equality Report – Graduate admissions | mike.eeley@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| Collegiate Offers Report (UG) | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
|---|---|
| Departmental Offers Report (UG) | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| Departmental Acceptances Report (UG) | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| PG Admissions – Long Term Data Trends | michael.eeley@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| Examination results by gender | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
|---|---|
| Norrington Table | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| Student Data for Athena SWAN awards (collated sources) | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
|---|---|
| Athena SWAN – PG data | michael.eeley@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| Staff Data for Athena SWAN award application (includes Humanities and Social Sciences) | hr.reporting@admin.ox.ac.uk |
Detailed ethnicity data are not published within the University due to their sensitive nature. Aggregated data are made publicly available at:
| Equality Report | laura.jones@admin.ox.ac.uk |
|---|---|
| Student Statistics | sdma@admin.ox.ac.uk |
| Staffing figures | hr.reporting@admin.ox.ac.uk |
The EDU will compile additional staff and student data for the University’s application to the Race Equality Charter Mark. Contact race.equality@admin.ox.ac.uk for details.
The EDU can provide departments with anonymised, aggregated recruitment monitoring data, provided this does not identify individuals or reveal sensitive personal data. Please contact equality@admin.ox.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.
The University subscribes to HEIDI – the Higher Education Information Database for Institutions – which permits comparison of staff and student data across UK universities. Contact heidi@admin.ox.ac.uk to set up an account.
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