Hope Duncan, Ivana Drdáková, Katya Moncrieff, Rachael McLaughlin , Heather Selley , Ashar Aslam, Avila Chidume, Alice Hui

This report represents the collective voice of NERC DTPs & CDTs, demonstrating the reality of nurturing Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the ground level from the perspectives of staff and students. Individually, we have faced common barriers towards improving DEI within our host universities and honed our expertise in realising DEI through extensive research and project delivery. From our unique vantage point, we have identified 5 key themes of DEI recommendations, evidenced by case studies from our DTPs & CDTs including examples of successful DEI projects, common barriers towards progression, and examples of best practice. We believe these should form the focus of future, embedded NERC DEI initiatives in conjunction with the NERC DEI living action plan and NERC best practice principles in doctoral recruitment.