XR Stories to advance the equitable design of research in the immersive sector

XR Stories has been awarded funding from the Valuing Voices for Equitable and Responsible Research project, a collaboration between the University of York and Mahidol University in Thailand, funded by Wellcome.

The XR Stories team will work with Ida XR Studio to develop practical models and interventions to foster equitable teams working on the design of University of York research projects in the immersive technology sector. 

The work will contribute to the wider aims of the Valuing Voices project; to create a tool that will help both researchers and research enablers to plan, deliver, and evaluate research with equity and responsibility at its core.

XR Stories and Ida XR Studio will develop a training programme to explore barriers in the industry, key equity and inclusion concepts, and design tools for research and development projects.

In 2024, King’s College London published research undertaken by Ida XR Studio that highlighted the challenges facing women and gender-nonconforming people in the immersive industry. The report concluded that design interventions are needed to overcome these problems.

In 2023, a policy briefing document from XR Stories and the Screen Industries Growth Network (SIGN), shared insights from both projects on embedding EDI into research programmes. 

The XR Stories Valuing Voices project, ‘Advancing team equity, inclusive research and project design in the immersive technology industry’ will inform University of York-led research and collaborative industry R&D in immersive digital technologies.

Funded by Wellcome as part of the Valuing Voices project

Published on 10 February 2025