The Fire Brigades Union is committed to challenging inequality, discrimination, and harassment in all its forms, including within our own union.
The union has commissioned Professor Nicola Rollock and her team at NIANRO Consulting to conduct an independent review of racism within the FBU’s governance and structures to achieve this.
Find out more about the review in the FAQs below.
- This review has been commissioned by the Fire Brigades Union as part of our aim to transform the fire and rescue service and fight against discrimination, harassment, and bullying.
- The review aims to understand where and how racism exists within the union and will make recommendations to help address it.
- The review is being carried out by NIANRO Consulting, an independent organisation led by Professor Nicola Rollock and her research team. Nicola is interested in social justice, strategy and policy and carried out a similar review for the National Union of Students. She has been previously been commissioned to carry out research for University & College Union.
- You can read more about Nicola’s work and NIANRO Consulting here: nicolarollock.com
- In addition to attending Conference and reading relevant reviews and publications, Professor Rollock and her team have had a series of informal chats with FBU members and colleagues which have helped inform the questions they plan to ask in the survey and the interviews. Thank you to those who spoke to NIANRO for their time and suggestions.
- NIANRO will carry out a member-wide survey about members’ and FBU staff’s views on racism and will also carry out one-to-one interviews with several members and staff.
- All members and FBU staff will be invited to complete the survey.
- NIANRO to hear from as many people as possible including those who have experienced or witnessed racism and those who may feel that racism is not an issue.
- They will contact colleagues separately to invite them to take part in interviews.
- All responses to the survey and the interviews will be kept completely confidential. Only members of the NIANRO research team will be able to view them. No one related to FBU will see them at any point.
- When NIANRO write the report or discuss the findings, they will remove any details that could identify you such as your name, the names of individuals you mention or individual brigades.
- By independent, we mean that the review is not subject to influence from any party or person and is carried out with rigour, integrity and adheres to the highest ethical standards.
- This means listening to a range of views and not reaching a decision or conclusion about the potential findings before the data has been collected and analysed.
- The team decides the direction of the review and will advise FBU HQ of any significant changes.
- Assuming everything goes well and we can work to our planned timeline, NIANRO will share their findings with FBU by Spring 2026.
- Once received by the FBU, the report will be shared with Executive Council to reflect on its findings and recommendations. The report will then be published.
- If colleagues have any questions about the review, please get in touch with the NIANRO research lead Motunrayo: [email protected] who will be pleased to help. All contact is treated in confidence and will be used to help inform the review’s findings.
The survey link is available here.
Yes, the survey will need to be completed in one sitting. There is not an option to save and return to it at a later date.
The survey will take around 15-35 minutes to complete. It mainly involves multiple choice questions, with the opportunity to provide short written answers at some points if you would like.
All current FBU members and staff can take part irrespective of their views and experiences of racism.
The survey will be open for approximately six weeks. It will close on Thursday 30th October.
