The Institute of Public Administration

SAFE (Staff Alliance for Equity)

SAFE is a bottom-up platform open to staff of all levels, irrespective of contractual status. The presence and activities of SAFE extend our commitment to the Code of Conduct of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, which ‘wishes to offer all students and staff an honest, open, safe and inspiring climate for work and study’.

Leiden University aims to promote a safe and stimulating study and work environment for students and staff. Diversity and inclusion belong to its core values. As with every organization, issues arise that hinder (the creation of) such an environment and reflect tensions and challenges within our community. Since its launch in December 2019, SAFE has sought to address these issues at the Institute of Public Administration.

Mission

To contribute to a safer and more inclusive study and work environment at the Institute of Public Administration by facilitating conversations about organisational culture and wellbeing, maintaining communication channels within the Institute, and supporting (and, where possible, encouraging the institutionalisation of) activities and projects with similar aims. SAFE members participate in relevant networks, such as Together@FGGA, and work closely with their ambassadors to disseminate this mission.

Vision

Our efforts are successful when students and staff, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, cultural and socioeconomic background, and ability, feel increasingly safe and included in their studies and work at the Institute of Public Administration, contributing to their overall wellbeing, development and success.

An inclusive and safe climate is one in which community members:

Can respectfully address each other's behaviour and hold each other accountable,
Feel a sense of belonging and co-ownership within our communities,
Embrace different opinions and perspectives without fear of ridicule and punishment, and
Feel comfortable freely expressing all facets of their identity;

And in which:

Transparency, fairness and equal opportunity for employment, advancement and rewards is ensured,
Policies and practices exist to address unacceptable behaviour and to support affected parties.

Structure

A group of coordinators meet every 6 weeks. These meetings are open to anyone at the Institute of Public Administration. SAFE meets biannually with the Institute Board and our coordinators maintain contact with our ambassadors to ensure we are up to speed. We also manage a Teams page for colleagues who wish to join.

Coordinators

Ambassadors

Past Achievements

First pilot of DID (Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization) within the Governance of Sustainability Master programme
Collaboration with the Public Ethics committee in January 2021
Workshop series on inclusive research practices led by Tamara Soukotta and Shivant Jhagroe, May 2021
Collaboratively drafted SAFE Inclusive Teaching Tips, released in November 2021, which is being used in the BKO Classroom course.
Collaborated with the Institute Board to conduct focus groups to assess the feeling of safety among Public Administration students, culminating in a memo entitled “Belonging at BSK”, released internally in 2022.
Manually arranged a “randomised coffee generator” for colleagues to get to know each other

Contact

For questions, comments, or to join our meetings, please don’t hesitate to contact us at SAFE_BSK@fgga.leidenuniv.nl.