Beyond compliance: A transferable and scalable framework for introducing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in higher education

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are increasingly recognised as central to educational quality and professional identity formation in higher education. However, many initiatives remain compliance-driven, potentially limiting their impact. This paper presents a transferable and scalable bottom-up five-step framework for introducing EDI in a meaningful integrated way. Practitioner-led and iteratively refined through student-staff dialogue, the framework embeds EDI within disciplinary practice rather than as an adjunct. First implemented in undergraduate human anatomy teaching, it promotes inclusive pedagogy and student agency by aligning disciplinary learning with lived identities and structural inequalities. Its design supports both horizontal (within-year) and vertical (across-programme) integration, with applicability to public engagement and cross-disciplinary contexts. Continuous critical reflection is central to its iterative development and contributes to sustained cultural change Two case studies demonstrate the framework's adaptability: one illustrates horizontal integration within anatomy through scaffolded workshops, student-led outputs and identity-informed assessment; the other showcases successful cross-discipline translation to a postgraduate engineering context. Practitioner reflections and implementation guidance are provided to support wider adoption. Together, these contributions highlight the framework's potential to move EDI beyond compliance towards meaningful, discipline-embedded inclusivity.