Accelerating progress for everyone: our EDI in research strategic approach

Excellence in research is critical in helping us beat cancer for everyone.

Cutting-edge research driven by our most talented people is key to helping us unlock new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. We’re committed to inclusion, so we can support the most talented researchers and meaningfully engage with patients – whatever their background. We need to support a breadth of innovative ideas so that progress against cancer benefits everyone.

Our mission is to beat cancer, and that means beating it for everybody. In the UK, nearly 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime but the burden of cancer isn’t distributed equally across the population. The reasons for this are complex and we still don’t fully understand how and why cancers affect people differently.

We need to deepen our understanding of how cancer inequalities arise and address them through research, ensuring we better reflect the diversity of people affected by cancer.

We’ve laid out a blueprint of how we will work towards these ambitious goals in our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in research strategic approach (2025-2030). The strategic approach builds on the progress we’ve made and the lessons we’ve learned so far. We’re proud of the world-class community of researchers we fund and have taken steps to improve the inclusivity of our research and, simultaneously, broadened access to our funding.

However, we need to go further and faster to ensure we can beat cancer for everyone.

As we move forwards, we’ll continue to work with the experts, partners, research community and patient representatives who helped inform this evidence-led approach.

A look into our refreshed EDI strategic approach

A table summarising our priority and focus areas. Priority 1 Deepen our understanding of cancer inequalities and address them through high-quality research, ensuring participants better reflect the diversity of people affected by cancer Priority 2 Be a fair funder, investing in high-quality research and developing a more inclusive and diverse research community Focus area 1 Transforming our understanding of the role of biology and its interaction with other causes contributing to inequalities in cancer incidence and outcomes Focus area 2 Enhancing the design and delivery of inclusive research Focus area 3 Supporting research in a fair and inclusive way Focus area 4 Fostering inclusive and diverse research communities and environments, in partnership with others Our principles Accountability and transparency We use data and evidence to continuously improve, innovate and learn from others. Partnership and collaboration We work with organisations and relevant communities to accelerate progress. We also expect grant-holders and institutions in receipt of our funding to support our approach. Coordinated action We harness our breadth and scale to increase our effectiveness and impact. Influence We promote EDI in cancer research and innovation to improve outcomes for everyone. — Our EDI in research strategic approach (2025-2030) outline.

Our EDI in research strategic approach complements our long-term organisational commitment to EDI, building on both our EDI strategy and our cancer and health inequalities strategy.  

Dr Iain Foulkes, our executive director of research and innovation said: “Together, we continue to drive progress so that our research benefits from a diverse range of talented people helping to beat cancer for everyone. 

“We won’t be able to meet these ambitions alone. Working with others will be pivotal to realising the ambitions of this strategic approach and we’re grateful to the cancer research community – patient representatives, researchers and partners – who’ve engaged with us in developing it.”