DEI Toolkit 2: Getting Started

About the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Toolkit
Activating and fully integrating your organization’s values for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will increase your organizational resilience, promote more ethical community partnerships, and increase your reputability and leadership in the field. Our 7-part DEI toolkit series provides frameworks and guidance so you can thoughtfully address historic inequities while building better practices and increasing your organization’s ability to work for a just and healthy world everyone can enjoy. 

Each toolkit is themed for accessibility and ease of use. You’ll find webinars, workshops, guides, templates, and activities to increase your organization’s readiness, competency, and capacity for diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout all components of your work. 

TREC is committed to growing our offerings through these toolkits, so please check back in for new additions throughout the year.  

DEI Toolkit 2: Getting Started will help you take basic steps to move your organization forward towards activating your DEI values. You’ll receive guidance on how to craft your organizational DEI statement, establish a working group to direct, facilitate, and evaluate your organizational progress and goals, and convene affinity groups to foster more nuanced, supportive spaces for consensus building and problem solving towards change.  

Toolkit Resources

Connecting to your D.E.I “Why”

Everyone has a unique connection to environmental work. Awareness of your story and motivation to pursue D.E.I. can be grounding and uplifting when you are faced with difficult decisions, face barriers in your path, or need to be inspired by yourself! The following writing exercise helps you identify how you came to value the pursuit of D.E.I. in the environmental field, what keeps you motivated, and what you need to stay resilient when challenges inevitably arise.

Crafting a DEI Case for Change and DEI Statement

Why – why is DEI important to your organization, and What – what are your organization’s specific DEI commitments. TREC clients will gain knowledge and skills on how to craft a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement.

Decision Making for Equity and Inclusion

Decision-making practices reflect an organization’s equity and inclusion values. They also reveal how authoritative a.k.a. commanding power is distributed throughout an organization. Use this decision-making mode graphic to investigate how […]

Change Team Core Processes and Tools: Set-Up and Management Checklist

Change teams designed to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) require thoughtful planning and communication throughout the active lifecycle of the team: Launch, Management, Evaluation, and Relaunch. Change teams, like any other team, require management tools, skills, and processes to be successful. Use the following checklists to create the change team charter and core management tools and processes.

Milestones for DEI Change Teams

Use this guide to assess and track the progress of cultural change initiatives that are guided by a DEI change team. It is organized in three common phases: the foundational phase, the experimentation phase, and the integration phase. In all three phases, it is critical to keep the staff and board informed of progress and to eliminate roadblocks. The Executive Director, senior leadership team, and Board of Directors must also sponsor and support in all phases.

Change Team DEI Development Plan Template

A written plan of action is essential for individuals or teams working to increase diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). DEI team workplans or development plans bring clarity to expectations, enrich feedback and review processes, and help align each team member’s tasks with the DEI team goals. Once your goals are written, create a work plan using this sample DEI Development plan template to track activity and report on progress.

SOAR Strategy Screen for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning

A strategy screen is a list of criteria against which you can test various strategic options, particularly when navigating crises, opportunities, growth, or change. Strategy screens help you apply your values and can provide clear rationale so that all staff members feel better equipped to either make or support decisions that align with your organization’s principles, mission, identity, and goals. A strategy screen can be particularly useful to clarify your DEI priorities and scope in a large field of possible activities.

Background Image: American Rivers | Scott Bosse

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