AIRTO – the Association of Innovation, Research & Technology Organisations – was delighted to be part of a dozen high-profile supporters, including Rolls-Royce and Siemens, pledging their support for the Catapult Networks’ Inclusivity in Innovation Charter at their second major equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) event held on 7 July 2022 at the Glasgow Technology & Innovation Centre.

Organisations which pledged their support to the Charter are recognising the critical role of ED&I in innovation and the importance of embedding ED&I principles into their cultures and workplaces. For AIRTO, we are recognising our responsibility to drive a shared commitment to fair, welcoming and diverse workplaces across the UK’s Innovation, Research &Technology (IRT) sector in support of innovation and economic growth.

The new organisations pledging their support for the Catapult Network’s Charter are: Rolls-Royce, Siemens, AIRTO, Inclusive Employers, AFBE-UK, Shepherd Wedderburn, CFMS, Lifetime FM, Different Dynamics, Woods Noble Video, El Roboto and IfM Engage.

Left to right: Matthew Durdy, Chair of the Catapult Network, Katherine Bennett, Deputy Chair of the Catapult Network, Andrew Jamieson, Chair of AIRTO Image credit: © Catapult Network 2022

Steve Yianni FREng, President, AIRTO, commented:

“With the unanimous support of the Board, AIRTO is delighted to be pledging support for the Catapult Network’s Inclusion in Innovation Charter. AIRTO recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion within our sector, and we hope that this decision will provide an opportunity for our member organisations to consider also pledging support to the Charter, subject to their own appropriate governance arrangements.  We were delighted to see this initiative gathering momentum.”

About AIRTO
AIRTO is the Association of Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations. Its membership comprises approximately sixty of the principal organisations operating in the UK’s Innovation, Research and Technology (IRT) sector. The IRT sector has a combined turnover of £6.9Bn, employing over 57,000 scientific and technical staff (equivalent to the academic staffing of the Russell Group of universities) and, for comparison, it is significantly larger than the network of Fraunhofer Institutes in Germany both in size and its scope of activities. The sector contributes £34Bn to UK GDP. AIRTO’s members work at the interface between academia and industry, for both private and public sector clients.

Members include independent Research and Technology Organisations, Catapult Centres, Public Sector Research Establishments, National Laboratories, and some privately held innovation companies.

For further information, please contact: enquiries@airto.co.uk