2026 Shortlisted nominee
Inclusive Culture Initiative
The Built Environment Access Panel (BEAP) is Network Rail’s long‑standing inclusive culture initiative, placing lived experience, technical expertise, diversity and accessibility. Founded over a decade ago by Margaret Hickish MBE, BEAP it has grown into an embedded, sector‑leading model that enables disabled people, people with protected characteristics and accessibility specialists to directly shape how the railway is designed and delivered. Through monthly reviews, workshops and user testing, BEAP informs projects from stations and rolling stock to ticketing, information systems and public realm, moving accessibility from compliance to shared responsibility. Having supported more than 600 projects across Britain, BEAP provides expert challenge, strengthens capability and ensures inclusion is considered from the earliest design stages. BEAP demonstrates how lived experience can transform culture, improve decision‑making and create a railway designed with everyone in mind.
