NERCOUTE Nottingham CITEES (Connecting, Inspiring, Training, and Employing Environmental Scientists)

There is a recognised lack of diversity in the NERC sciences, from the makeup of undergraduate cohorts to the recipients of its funding. The CITEES (Connecting, Inspiring, Training, and Employing Environmental Scientists) initiative aims to inspire, recruit, and retain diverse workforces in environmental sciences. By 2040, our vision is to have a NERC science talent pool that reflects the diversity of the UK population. Nottingham is one of the most deprived areas in England, with high levels of income and skills deprivation. The pilot phase of the CITEES initiative will therefore focus on Nottingham and on the themes of social mobility, geographic location, and the intersection of these with the protected characteristics of race, sex, and gender identity. The project has six main objectives: embed EDI principles in our working, collecting data to understand the current situation, identifying what skills are needed in the workforce, building strong relationships across local organisations, testing new ideas to improve diversity, and continuously assessing the effectiveness of the project. Nottingham CITEES will build on the existing networks of our Leadership Team drawn from the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University, the British Geological Survey, and the Environment Agency. We will target educators and students from primary school to university with a view to improving representation. Our suggested co-produced interventions include university students acting as role models in schools, free educational afterschool clubs for younger students to learn about the environmental sciences, paid summer placements for students to gain experience in environmental sciences and encouraging girls to pursue STEM fields through the Girl Guiding movement. Nottingham faces a NERC science focus 'brain drain' where skilled graduates leave the region after completing their studies. Strengthening connections between educational institutions and regional employers can help retain this talent. To aid these connections Nottingham CITEES will conduct surveys and interviews with employers to identify skills gaps that can inform our pilot initiatives but also mitigate misconceptions about the environmental sciences as a career pathway which can impact undergraduate degree choice. The four CITEES pillars (Connecting, Inspiring, Training, and Employing) provide the framework on which we will build our vision. As a Leadership Team we will draw on our lived experience (e.g., coming from POLAR4 Quintile 1 postcodes to work in Nottingham, in the environmental sciences, as female scientists) alongside our deep commitment to our discipline in undertaking this project, and are driven to see it succeed.