Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are directly related to our vision of a world free from the fear, harm and heartbreak of dementia.
Alzheimer’s Research UK exists for a cure and it’s vital that everyone can benefit from the progress we’re making in dementia research.
Over half of us know someone affected by dementia, it affects people from every walk of life. However, we know that some groups within our society are more heavily impacted by the condition, either being more at risk of the diseases that cause dementia or more likely to experience poorer health outcomes as a result of them.
Our work must reach every person with dementia and those around them, whatever their identity, experience and perspective. We aim to reach and connect meaningfully with communities across the UK, providing high-quality health information and opportunities to participate in our work.
We are committed to being an inclusive organisation where people can make a full contribution and where we value a diverse range of views.
Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Commitments
Our EDI Commitments guide our approach:
- We will fund research that is representative of the population living with dementia and we will ensure that our funding processes are inclusive and support a diverse research workforce.
- Our work is inclusive. We strive to represent everyone affected by dementia, and to address dementia inequalities.
- We will champion the equity, diversity and inclusion of our people.
EDI activities at Alzheimer’s Research UK
Here are some of the ways that we are embedding EDI:
Our Dementia Statistics hub includes data on the inequalities in dementia risk, incidence, diagnosis and management – for example in sex and gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status. You can find out more on our Dementia Statistics Hub. Our reports Towards Brain Health Equity: Tackling inequalities in Dementia Risk and The Impact of Dementia on Women highlight these disparities and make recommendations for change.
Our research programme aims to be inclusive and support a diverse workforce and EDI is embedded into our research strategy. We have piloted using a narrative CV format for our research funding applications, which is designed to encourage applicants to provide evidence of the skills, expertise and experience unique to them.
Our Dementia Community Champions programme empowers volunteers to share information about dementia within underserved communities, that face barriers in accessing health and research information and are at higher risk of dementia.
In 2025, the programme continues to focus on South Asian communities, working in Leicester, Nottingham and Derby. In 2026 the programme will expand into Black African and Black Caribbean communities in East London.
The Inspire Fund supports projects that engage underserved communities with brain health and dementia, helping to build understanding and reduce risk.
We welcome applications from all and particularly encourage collaborations between researchers and communities. Creative and inclusive approaches are especially valued.
This fund is part of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s commitment to equity in dementia research and public engagement.
Find out more about the scheme here: Inspire Fund – public engagement grant - Grant scheme - Alzheimer's Research UK
We are committed to shaping the work of Alzheimer’s Research UK with people affected by dementia. Involving people with lived experience of dementia helps us to grow our impact and ensure our work meets the needs of everyone affected by dementia.
Our Lived Experience Involvement Group brings together people with personal experience of dementia to help shape our work. Members of the group are involved with a range of activity across the charity, including shaping projects and campaigns, reviewing research funding proposals, inputting into our policy work, and feeding into our health information.
We offer free dementia information booklets and webpages.
Our information is produced with input from the public and experts. This helps us to know that the highest quality science is being shared in the clearest way possible.
This includes information on:
- Causes
- Symptoms
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- Risk
- Support available.
Our online information also includes videos, and blogs to answer people’s questions about dementia. We also:
- Provide some information in eleven different languages.
- Have spoken word resources for people with visual difficulties or who don’t read.
- Subtitle our videos for people with hearing difficulties.
We want our information to be as trustworthy, accessible and engaging as possible. We’re proud that our health information is accredited by the Patient Information Forum, marking us as a trusted information provider.
Find out more and order health information.
Employees of Alzheimer’s Research UK have a significant role to play in shaping the public’s understanding of dementia and dementia research. By providing clear, accessible and accurate information, we can help to meet the needs of people affected by dementia.
As such, Alzheimer’s Research UK is committed to improving the way we communicate to the public to meet the needs of people with lower health literacy.
Alzheimer’s Research UK’s health literacy policy has been established to equip employees with the skills, understanding and resources necessary to communicate dementia and dementia research information simply, clearly and accurately to the public.
All employees are expected to incorporate these principles into every piece of external work they produce.
All of our fundraising activities strive to be inclusive and deliver a fantastic experience for a diverse range of audiences. Our Walk For A Cure events are just one example, as they are dementia-friendly and the locations are accessible to all. We are continually listening to feedback and ideas from our supporters to make changes that matter. In response to a supporter request, our Cure Magazine is now available in braille.
Inclusion feeds into everything we do internally. We’re constantly seeking ways to help our people to feel accepted, supported and empowered to act. We aim to raise awareness through blogs on our intranet and through our “Let’s Talk” series, with speakers covering a variety of EDI topics. We have reviewed our recruitment approach and implemented a new recruitment platform to help us attract a diverse range of applications.
Find out more about working for us and learn about our gender pay gap.
EDI initiatives
Here are some of the EDI initiatives that Alzheimer’s Research UK supports:
- Alzheimer's Research UK is proud to endorse the ALBA Declaration on Equity and Inclusion and the Declaration on Research Assessment. By signing and working to the principles in these declarations, we promote a more inclusive research culture for all.
- We are signatories of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, recognising the need to improve the ways in which researchers and research outputs are evaluated.
- We are members of the Inequalities in Health Alliance, a coalition of organisations that have come together to campaign for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.
- We have been awarded the Employ Dyslexia badge, which recognises how we value and empower dyslexic thinking.
-
We have been awarded Silver in the Inclusive Employers Inclusion Standard, recognising our strong foundation to inclusion work, such as how we are embedding inclusion across the charity