Context | Our capacity | Our mission | Our community | Looking back to act forward
Introduction
This report provides a concise summary of the Federation's progress in advancing its 2024 Action Plan commitments to equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDID). Structured around three central pillars, Our Capacity, Our Mission, and Our Community, it highlights completed actions, tracks ongoing efforts, and identifies areas for further growth.
2024 EDID Action Plan: From recommendations to action
The Federation’s 2024 Action Plan includes 14 actions grounded in the recommendations of the Igniting Change report (April 2021), a milestone document that challenged the Federation to embed EDID not only in programming, but also in its governance, operations, and partnerships.
This webpage shares a progress report on our 2024 Action Plan reflecting our ongoing commitment to that call for transformation.
Progress summary
Through ongoing engagement and coordination with responsible teams and focal persons, the EDID team identified appropriate leads and collaborators to guide the progress of each strategic action. The Lead, Policy – EDID reached out to the designated leads to gather up-to-date status information for all actions.
In consultation with strategic action leads, each action was assigned one of the following status categories:
- Completed: achieved within the reporting year with the understanding that the work may continue in subsequent years.
- Ongoing: continuing into the next reporting year.
- Delayed: did not begin as anticipated in the reporting year.
These designations support transparent tracking and help inform where additional support or adjustments may be needed in the next cycle.
Our capacity
Building the internal structures and systems that enable meaningful transformation
The Federation’s ability to implement its EDID commitments rests on its internal capacity — including staff, governance, resources, and policy infrastructure. Significant progress was made in 2024 to solidify this foundation and enable long-term impact.
Highlights
Strengthening EDID leadership through staffing
✔ Complete
Created and filled a new staff position Lead, Policy – EDID reporting to the Director, Policy and Programs. This formalized leadership role provides consistent oversight of EDID work across departments.
Expanding the Standing Committee on EDID
✔ Complete
Recruited two new non-Board members, Drs. Melanie Griffith Brice and Rheanna Robinson, and one Board member, Dr. Shannon Dea, to the Standing Committee. A new Chair, Dr. Sylvia Bawa, was appointed in June 2024. These positions will strengthen expertise, momentum, and accountability.
Mainstreaming EDID into budgeting practices
✔ Complete
Integrated EDID investments across departmental budgets to ensure long-term sustainability. The $500,000 reserve fund, committed in 2021, has been fully embedded into the Federation's core budget, with ongoing EDID commitments maintained across all departments.
Advancing workforce diversity through policy and data
✔ Complete
Completed a staff-wide self-identification survey to inform hiring and workforce planning. Staff meets the 50-30 Challenge goal. There remains a meaningful opportunity to create space for Indigenous voices and leadership within the team.
Building EDID capacity through training
✔ Complete
Two foundational staff training sessions were held in 2024: Bystander Intervention (May) and the Kairos Blanket Exercise (September). Needs assessment is underway to expand training to Board and volunteers in 2025.
Highlights
Embedding EDID in Congress planning
✔ Complete
Applied EDID criteria to guide the Congress 2024 theme selection, speaker invitations, and host institution evaluation.
Implementing Voluntary Self-Identification Survey
✔ Complete
Piloted a self-id survey with Congress 2024 attendees and funding recipients, receiving 123 and 98 responses, respectively.
Expanding the Child and Dependent Care Subsidy
✔ Complete (with learning)
Introduced a rolling application process that increased access, but uptake remained below target (57 recipients vs. 200 target). Promotion strategies and feedback mechanisms have been strengthened for 2025 including an increase in amount per attendee and no longer requiring receipts.
Enhancing visa and travel support
✔ Complete
New coordination with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) took place to support international scholars and mitigate visa-related barriers.
Launching materials promoting the Role of HSS
Ongoing
The Federation will be launching a new phase of the Role of HSS project, with the first brief in a yearlong series scheduled for release in 2025.
Highlights
Offering webinars, workshops, and roundtables
✔ Ongoing (completed January 2025)
Programming in 2024 was limited due to staffing constraints. However, new workshops — including the EDID Initiatives Fund session and accessibility clinics — took place in 2025.
Expanding the Resource Hub
✔ Complete
Expanded the repository with Big Thinking lectures and podcasts on EDID-related topics.
Relaunching the Canada Prizes with EDID criteria
✔ Complete
Successfully relaunched the Canada Prizes in 2024 with revised EDID criteria. 2025 prize cycle promotion is aligned with Congress, where winners were announced.
Renewing EDID Charter promotion
⏳ Delayed
While the Charter remains foundational, active promotion paused in 2024 due to capacity challenges. Strategy renewal is planned in 2025.
Looking back to act forward
While significant strides have been made in advancing our EDID commitments, the journey has also prompted important learnings that continue to shape our path forward.
One of the key difficulties we encountered was managing capacity constraints, which impacted the timely delivery of some programs and initiatives, including our community-facing workshops and the promotion of the EDID Charter. Staffing transitions also presented hurdles, particularly in maintaining momentum on long-term projects, and the absence of Indigenous staff representation on our team remains a gap that requires attention.
These challenges remind us that while progress is being made, sustained, systemic change requires continuous attention, learning, and adaptability.
In 2025, we have already marked important steps forward. As part of our continued commitment, the Federation has begun work this year to:
- Publish the first research brief from the Role of HSS project
- Finalize and launch a formal EDID training strategy
- Expand data collection and reporting across Congress and internal structures
- Assess the EDID Charter promotional campaign and ongoing actions
- Enhance support for member associations implementing EDID principles
- Strengthen accessibility and care supports for Congress 2025 attendees and associations
The Federation remains committed to deep, sustained change. The work continues guided by the vision of Igniting Change and driven by our responsibilities to our communities. As a part of this work, we engaged with members of the Federation in a strategic engagement exercise in summer 2025. This space allows members to shape the future of EDID action and ensure that our path forward is guided by collective insight, accountability, and a shared commitment to lasting change.
This work is ongoing, and we want to do it with you. Check back for more updates or email us at contact@federationhss.ca.