Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout5-Hastings D&I Plan BUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH EQUITY Creating an Inclusive Hastings Community 2 YMCA EQUITY INNOVATION CENTER OUR APPROACH We RAISE awareness As the magnitude and complexity of racial and cultural diversity has grown in Minnesota, the moral imperative and business case for systematically identifying and eliminating racial inequities have become increasingly clear. The sense of urgency is accelerating and the call to action is permeating every institution and organization both local and national. Once again, the YMCA leads the way by providing unwavering commitment to the development and support for leaders and workplaces to become culturally competent and inclusive. The Center brings together diverse stakeholders from all sectors to develop a common understanding of and design solutions to address challenges related to diversity, equity and inclusion. We ACTIVATE change We strongly believed in authentic engagement that provides a safe space for all to contribute and be heard. The Community Think Tank process raises awareness, enhances knowledge and leadership skills to take action and encourage community engagement throughout the process while working toward actionable solutions. Participants are engaged in insightful conversations about current realities while gaining deeper understanding. We ACCELERATE transformation The Equity Innovation Center will include an “Equity Innovation Immersion,” hands on experiential learnings and activities that reflect state of the art simulations of the current state of affairs directly related to equity, diversity, inclusion, and global realities, fostering a paradigm shift by unpacking race, gender, ethnic and other biases. The Y has been facilitating equity innovation labs over the last four years. These labs are inclusive of design thinking processes and are designed intentionally with members of the community that the lab will take place in. We CREATE momentum We are creative in customizing “real life” experiences that increases self-awareness and foster a deeper understanding of how issues relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion affect our daily work, life and society. We are intentional in our development of environments that are life transforming and open for change to happen in a significant way. We create opportunities for everyone to be inspired to create innovative solutions toward greater equity, diversity and inclusion in their organizations, communities and networks. We IMPROVE effectiveness For those organizations that are in the beginning stages of developing a process for addressing their workforce environment, we recommend The Social Responsibility Assessment (SRA) tool, an online research base measurement tool that organizations can use to assess their current level of social responsibility. 3 GENERAL SCOPE OF WORK The Value Proposition In order to fully realize a vision for your community initiative to become a more inclusive community and achieve the realization of your proclamation, community leadership must establish policies and procedures that support the organization’s commitment and intentions for inclusion and provide a framework within which all members of Hastings community can operate. The challenge for any community initiative is to show they are committed to actively fostering inclusion throughout your programmatic, communication, outreach and operational efforts. What is the benefit of having an inclusive community as you increasingly move from a mono-cultural to multi-cultural society? Inclusive Impact “To be an inclusive city among different cultures and economic differences, people must be interested in others, be sensitive enough to notice cultural differences and then also be willing to modify (not assimilate) their behavior as an indication of respect for the people of other cultures and economic differences.” Showing empathy and having understanding of the dimensions of diversity within Hastings, particular as it relates to disparities is central to improving relations across community members. Intercultural competence is also necessary for domestic intercultural relations related to age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. The Research Says: 1. Cross-Cultural Competency ranked #3 of the top 10 work skills needed for the future. 2. Cultural competency is positively associated with higher business performance outcome measures. 3. Cultural competency is positively associated with higher performance in organizations that integrate and leverage diverse perspectives as resources for product delivery. 4. Cultural competent teams are more creative and perform better in problem solving than homogeneous teams Our Approach Cultural Competence is Essential Research conducted on intercultural effectiveness, cross cultural adaptation and adjustment, international job performance, diversity & inclusion efforts, and other forms of intercultural contact (e.g., tourism, immigration, refugee resettlement); clearly identify cultural competence as a key capability for working and living effectively with people from different cultures. Indeed, cultural competence is essential for transcending ethnocentrism and establishing effective, positive relations across cultural boundaries both internationally and domestically. Cultural competence reflects the degree to which cultural differences and commonalities in values, expectations, beliefs, and practices are effectively bridged, an inclusive and equitable environment is achieved, and specific differences that exist in your organization are addressed from a “mutual adaptation” perspective. 4 WHAT? Community Engagement processes and learning sessions for Hastings becoming inclusive and culturally competent. HOW? Proposed Community Phase: Funded by the YMCA, City and School Phase 4: Community Think Tank- 50 people The Community Think Tank is an interactive process that engages multiple stakeholders to collectively work together to create a vision for “re-imagining what an inclusive city/community can be. The process is inclusive of identifying the challenges, opportunities, and solutions. Phase 6: Equity Innovation Lab- 200 people Community engagement process inclusive of hands-on experiential learning to develop a common understanding of complex problems through multicultural lens. The Lab is a series of community gatherings designed to increase your understanding of “real life” from multiple perspectives and provide you with new tools and strategies for successfully addressing equity, inclusion, and diversity. The goals of the Experiential Learning Sessions are to: 1. Create a safe space for everyone to be inspired to create innovative solutions toward greater equity, diversity and inclusion in their organizations, communities and networks 2. Create life-transforming experiences that lead to deeper understanding of self and others Phase 7: Train-of-Training for Equity Innovation Lab- 15 people Learning sessions for facilitation of community groups. Phase 8: Development of Long Term Goals and Community Impact Community Trainings: Hidden Brain and Unconscious Bias (3 hour session)- Tentative for early summer 2018 Everyone has unconscious or implicit bias. It would be impossible for us to navigate our world without using frameworks, assumptions, and mental models. As we seek to have greater equity, we need to understand our hidden and unconscious biases. Only by uncovering what is hiding in our brains can we move to thoughts and behaviors that lead to greater equity and inclusion. In this session we will practice with the world renown implicit association test. Bridging Cultural Differences (2-3 hour sessions)-Tentative for Sept. 2018 during welcoming week. We are each unique individuals that have been shaped by experiences, giftedness, abilities and cultural dimensions. It is easy to take a default view of each other that builds walls around our differences vs building bridges to understand. Using timeless researched resources like the Diversity Wheel and Dimensions of Culture we will explore what makes each of us unique and embracing the community around us. 5 Business/Org Phase: Funded by Organizations paying the way for their employees and volunteers Phase 1: Social Responsibility Assessment Tool (SRA) The Social Responsibility Assessment tool helps highlight successes within an organization and outlines areas to focus future efforts towards greater social responsibility. The SRA will strengthen the City of Hastings’ ability to define what it means for them to be socially responsible and identify systems or practices that can be transformed to be more proactive in the areas of equity, diversity and inclusion. Phase 2: The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Assessment and Workshop The IDI: The IDI assesses intercultural competence along the Intercultural Development Continuum (Adapted from the DMIS model (Bennett, 1986; 1993). This assessment tool & model is: Holistic—assesses mind/action sets; not individual personality, knowledge, attitude or skill dimensions Developmental—not typological Interculturally grounded—explains how individuals and/or group experience cultural differences & commonalities The IDI is designed and validated as a “culture-general” measure of intercultural competence. The IDI asks individuals to respond to the items in the Inventory in terms of their “own culture” and “other cultures.” The IDI has been statistically validated to generalize across other cultural communities than the respondent’s own culture group. This means that the IDI provides a powerful and accurate profile of respondents’ orientations toward a wide range of “other culture” groups, including nationality, ethnicity, gender and other diversity categories. Phase 3: Equity Innovation Immersion The Equity Innovation Immersion is a component of the Equity Innovation Center, and is being designed and built by the Science Museum of Minnesota. The Immersion is designed for participants to explore real life experiences through personal reflections and learning from others what equity, inclusion, and diversity really means and how it appears in multiple settings. Phase 5: Equity Leadership Institute The Equity Leader Institute was designed by the Y to be a set of learning and experiential opportunities that gives leaders the knowledge, skills, and tools to be equity leaders. By participating in the Equity Leader Institute, you will experience the following: 1. Fostering intercultural competencies for colleagues related to age, gender, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation 2. Helping to develop a positive work/community culture that supports equity and inclusion and drives positive behaviors among citizens/community members. 3. Developing effective communications for diverse populations. 6 PHASES Objective/Goal Process Timelines (tbd) Pre-Engagement Process Phase 1 Collecting baseline data SRA IDI on assessment and one-to- one conferences Phase 2 Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Cross-cultural assessment of intercultural competence Phase 3 Equity Innovation Immersion Hands-on experiential learning to develop a common understanding of complex problems through multicultural lens. Phase 4 Community Think Tank Community engagement process for creating a shared agenda. Phase 5 Equity Leadership Institute Increase cultural competence, equity and inclusion Phase 6 Equity Innovation Lab Community engagement process for increasing cultural awareness Phase 7 Training-of-Training for Equity Innovation Lab Training community leaders to facilitate Equity Innovation Labs Phase 8 Development of long term goals Identify process for sustainability