6 The Excellence Dividend
In order to uphold research excellence, each IDEA principle—Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility—must be seen as mutually informing and co-dependent. Together, they move beyond compliance to become drivers of innovation, quality, and impact.
“Put simply, diversity is not cosmetic—it is a measurable predictor of impact.
Inclusion is not ideological—it is a condition for excellence.
Access is not a bureaucratic burden—it is a gateway to untapped potential and a diversity dividend.”Dr. Malinda Smith
The Excellence Dividend in action[1]:
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- Broadens Research Questions, identifying and addressing gaps overlooked by homogeneous groups.
- Reduces Bias in Research, serving as antidote to groupthink, preventing costly errors; tackling bias in AI and Algorithms.
- Improves Research Relevance and Outcomes, generating findings that are applicable to wider audience.
- Ensures Research Validity, better data interpretation (lack of diversity in clinical trials have led to misinterpretations, adverse drug reactions for diverse populations).
- Leads to Higher Research Funding opportunities, success rates.
- Increases Citations, Impact: A Nature study showing ethnically diverse teams cited more often than homogeneous teams (Freeman & Huang, 2015).
- Diverse Teams, foster creativity and novel approaches crucial for scientific breakthroughs.
- Better solutions to complex problems (Scott E. Page, The Difference).
- Strengthens Global Competitiveness(NIH finding that diversity among scientists enhances quality and outputs of research, making it more globally relevant) (Adams 2013).
- Broadens Research Questions, identifying and addressing gaps overlooked by homogeneous groups.
References & Further Reading
- University Affairs – The Excellence Dividend by Dr. Malinda S. Smith (2023)
- NSERC – Guide for Applicants: Considering EDI in Research (2022)
- Freeman, R. B., & Huang, W. (2015). Collaborating with People Like Me: Ethnic Co-authorship within the U.S. Journal of Labor Economics.
- Page, S. E. (2007). The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies.
- Adams, J. (2013). NIH: Diversity and Global Research Quality.
- Smith, M. (2025, September 9). The excellence dividend: How diversity and inclusion strengthen research ecosystems. University Affairs. https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-excellence-dividend/
- Content developed by and shared with permission from Dr. Malinda Smith, AVP Research-EDI ↵
