The Competence Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) and the Center for Disability and Integration (CDI) will merge into a single unit starting from January 2025. The two renowned centres, which enjoy a strong reputation both in the DACH region and internationally, will combine their expertise and resources to operate jointly as the Competence Center for Diversity, Disability, and Inclusion (CCDI). From 2025, the CCDI will be led by Gudrun Sander (current), Stephan Böhm (new), and Ines Hartmann (current).
For years, the CCDI has been a integral part of the Research Institute for International Management (FIM-HSG), significantly contributing to its work. The fusion of the CCDI and CDI will shift the institute’s focus even more towards diversity and inclusion. The renaming as the Institute for International Management and Diversity Management (IIDM-HSG) emphasises this expanded focus. From January 2025, the new IIDM-HSG will be led by Winfried Ruigrok (current), Gudrun Sander (current), and Stephan Böhm (new).
Fusion of Two Leading Institutions
The fusion will create synergies and unite unique perspectives and expertise. Both centres bring specific skills that ideally complement each other — the CCDI’s focus on gender, cultural diversity, and LGBTQI+, combined with the CDI’s expertise in the areas of age, disability, and healthy leadership. The aim of this merger is to establish a competence centre that convinces with excellent research, practical impact, and international appeal.
Inclusion at the Heart
The (new) CCDI places inclusion as a central concept, considering all dimensions of diversity — from age, education, and disability to employment status, gender, nationality, race/ethnicity, language, and other aspects. This holistic approach serves as an overarching framework under which the specific characteristics of the various dimensions of diversity are reflected. This enables us to offer our clients and partners practical perspectives on how inclusion can sustainably promote both business and societal success.
Our Promise: "From Insight to Impact"
The University of St. Gallen’s claim, "From Insight to Impact", is further strengthened by this merger. Insights from top-tier research will be more effectively translated into concrete measures and solutions for organisations and society. Through close cooperation with you as our clients, we ensure that our research is not only academically relevant but also directly applicable. This approach supports companies and organisations in strengthening their commitment to diversity and inclusion in an evidence-based manner.
Our Strengths
Evidence-based Implementation: Our recommendations are based on sound research and robust data, ensuring effective and sustainable solutions.
Broad Expertise and a Strong Network: We combine extensive expertise in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) with an international network of experts, companies, and institutions.
Highest Quality: Our approach blends academic excellence with practical applicability to deliver results of the highest quality.
Our Offerings
With our innovative offerings, we support you in creating sustainable change — practical, well-founded, and targeted:
New Offerings: Through the merger, we expand our portfolio to include innovative formats such as inclusion measurements, job crafting, and specialised training for virtual and hybrid leadership.
Workshops and Training: Tailored formats on topics such as unconscious bias, inclusive leadership, and healthy leadership.
Evidence-based Consulting: Analyses of HR processes, diversity benchmarking, and wage analyses to support inclusive corporate strategies.
Partnerships: Building and maintaining national and international networks in the field of inclusion and diversity research to foster the transfer of knowledge between academia, business, and society.
What Can You as Our Clients Expect in the Future?
A trusting and enriching collaboration where we understand your needs precisely and respond to them in a targeted manner. Together, we develop not only inclusive strategies but also position you and your company as pioneers in your industry.
Together, we promote real and sustainable change — not only for organisations but also for society as a whole.
Let’s shape the future of inclusion together. Contact us for more information — we look forward to working with you!
The CCDI Team
Where do you stand in comparison to your competitors?
The HSG Diversity Benchmarking is Switzerland’s largest benchmark for diversity and inclusion. The St.Gallen Diversity Benchmarking provides facts, concrete fields of action, and recommendations for all important HR processes, from recruitment to pipeline management and career planning.
Create transparency about your wage practices
Wage analyses benefit those who are disadvantaged regarding salaries, as well as other groups. As a company, you benefit from presenting yourself as an attractive employer to potential new employees, and current employees feel they are being treated fairly. You can fulfil the requirement to take on government contracts through wage analyses.
Could your organization benefit from hands-on workshops on topics such as unconscious bias, DE&I, or anti-racism?
Whether for the private or public sector or university context, our workshops and trainings range from general awareness seminars for employees and supervisors to highly individualized workshops and coaching of teams, management or hiring committees.
Would you like to develop or solidify a DE&I strategy? Do you already have a DE&I strategy but would like to make it more robust?
The DE&I strategy is considered the basis of the systemic approach to successfully implementing DE&I. Our experts will help you identify the relevant elements for your DE&I plan and elaborate on the strategy. Our many years of expertise will help you reach your goal.
How satisfied are your employees? Do they feel a sense of belonging and that they are treated fairly?
Companies can become more innovative and economically successful with a diverse and inclusive culture. We measure DE&I from your employees’ perspective and the facts from your HR data, creating a comprehensive picture of where your company stands on D&I-related issues.
Would you like to know where your organisation stands in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion and document this with concrete figures?
DIVERSITY WORKS is a specialised platform that supports organisations in developing and improving their diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives and strategies. It offers comprehensive diversity analyses and benchmarking with industry peers and across industries. This enables a DE&I assessment, the measurement of progress and the linking of DE&I initiatives with realistic targets to achieve sustainable change.