Investors in Diversity Silver award

Discover how we achieved the Silver-level award from the National Centre for Diversity and what this means for our employees, students, members and firms.

Working with over one thousand organisations across multiple sectors, the National Centre for Diversity has created a framework that helps build inclusive cultures.

The framework, known as ‘FREDIE’, develops elements of fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and engagement.

The Centre’s three levels of accreditation, which are based around that framework, are:

• Bronze (Committing) - The first of the three stages, it gives organisations a framework to put in place a strong foundation to embed FREDIE into their wider organisation.
• Silver (Embedding) – Building on the requirements of Bronze, this stage involves inviting feedback from the people working in the organisation.
• Gold (Leading) – This final stage is all about excellence and ensuring FREDIE is part of the DNA of the organisation.

We worked together to achieve Silver

In July 2024 they awarded us Bronze-level accreditation, and we immediately began working together to reach the next level.

This second step in the Investors in Diversity accreditation involved listening to staff and gaining a better understanding of their experience of our organisational culture. This included surveys and a series of focus group sessions and one-to-one interviews, which were led by the Centre.

We’re pleased to announce that following these conversations we’ve now achieved the Silver level of accreditation.

Commenting on the award, Helen Cardno, ICAS HR Director, said:

“We’re delighted to have reached this significant milestone in our Investors in Diversity journey. We’ve worked hard to build a fair and inclusive culture at ICAS and so it’s reassuring to know that the lived experience of our people reflects those aims and aspirations.

“Having this fair and inclusive culture is good for everyone at ICAS but it also helps to ensure that we’re high-performing and is reflected in the first-class support we provide to our students, members and firms.

“Reaching the Silver level was a true team effort and we want to thank everyone who took part in the various conversations and surveys.”

What’s next?

The National Centre for Diversity assessors were very complimentary about all the areas that helped us achieve Silver.

Our Investors in Diversity journey continues and we are now looking at ways to reinforce our culture and further improve in all areas of fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and engagement.