Positive About Inclusion’s eighth Inclusion Forum North East was held on 17th September 2025 as part of our celebrations for National Inclusion Week, and focussed on Making Inclusive Decisions. Lucy and Karen were kindly hosted by the historic Port of Tyne and we were joined by representatives from 20 North East organisations – from small, local charities to international manufacturers in the automotive sector, and from housing associations to professional service providers.
As one of the aims of the Inclusion Forum is to facilitate connection so the event began with an ice breaker designed to help the group to know a little more about each other. Then we focused on the issue of Making Inclusive Decisions by exploring the different approaches used – from structured equality impact assessment frameworks used particularly in the public sector to board report cover sheets that ask the report author to highlight equality considerations to just making the assumption that decision makers will have this automatically embedded within their approach.
A tried and trusted approach for these events is to include a short group activity as this further facilitates networking and connection so attendees were then split into small groups to complete a short exercise. Each was presented with one of four decisions to be made – The Uniform Policy, The Food Bank, The Nifty Fifty and The Licence Fee. The group had to put themselves into the shoes of the management team faced with the scenario described and to identify what the risks, issues and considerations were, and to establish who should be consulted with and how.
Feedback was then shared allowing groups to compare and contrast the approach taken. This identified some key principles that could add value in inclusive decision making:
- Mindset Matters – empathy, understanding and keeping an open mind as well as considering the impact early within the decision making process (not as an after thought)
- Facts and Feelings – accurate data on which to base the decision can be essential, so to anecdotal data and trusting your gut that something is right or wrong
- Two Heads Are Better Than One – some key decisions should never be made in isolation and a range of lived experiences can add insight and perspective
- Checks and Balances – if an organisation is relying on colleagues to make inclusive decisions with little formal framework, what checks and balances are in place?
The session ended with further time for networking and the opportunity for attendees to share any subjects or topics they would like to be considered for future Inclusion Forum events.
“Thanks so much for today, fantastic to meet so many people passionate about making positive changes – looking forward to the next one!”
Lisa Barclay, Senior Workforce Solutions Manager, AuditOne UK
The next Inclusion Forum North East event will take place later in the year (probably late-November) and to be added to the mailing list, please do Contact Us.
