Visit the Racial Equity Research portal to explore topic pages, and visit the City Racial Equity Actions page to search the database. Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. The database is a major step forward in making the City’s racial equity work more transparent for the Seattle community and making it easier for departments to collaborate.ĭevelopment of the Racial Equity Research site was led by the Race and Social Justice Initiative, the Seattle IT Digital Engagement Team, and the Seattle IT Digital Workflows team. The new database allows users to view summaries of Racial Equity Plans, with information about strategies and projected outcomes. Every year, City of Seattle departments create Racial Equity Plans to ensure that their work centers people most impacted by racism and other forms of oppression. In tandem with the portal, RSJI also published a searchable City Racial Equity Actions database. Links to some of the many community organizations who are advancing the work in Seattle.An interactive chart showing the root causes of an issue.Background information about a racial equity issue.The Racial Equity Research portal now includes six topic pages: Poverty, Racial Demographics, Food Insecurity, Health Disparities, Community Wealth, and Housing Affordability. In response, the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) conceptualized web resources that improve access to government racial equity data, identify root causes of inequities, and mobilize collaborations across City departments and community groups. Seattle’s Innovation Advisory Council sponsored the project after community feedback that called for more transparent race and social justice data, as well as better coordination between City departments. The tool questions are designed to be ordered with highest priorities at the top, but this is subjective and depends on the decision, product, or effort.The Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) at the City of Seattle launched new websites with in-depth information and data about racial equity issues in the Seattle area, as well as a database of actions the City is taking toward racial equity.There is not a score or a threshold for acceptability but a goal of continuous improvement and intentionality. If every component of the tool cannot be a “yes”, consider how to mitigate the impacts and what we’d need to do to shift the organizational culture to do better in the next version or iteration. Our goal is intentionally centering racial equity throughout our decision-making, not perfection.It’s ideal if the answers change over the course of the development of the program, communications product, recruitment effort, etc.-this means the tool is working! These tools are best used actively throughout the process early, at key decision points, and as an after action review at the conclusion of the process.These tools are designed to be the basis of a team discussion and inclusive decision-making process, not a formality completed in isolation (though one team member may manage the checklist and bring to the team for discussion).Where it exists, each tool should be incorporated into the pre-existing process and meeting structure. We intend to adapt them to the needs of our organization over time, and to reflect our evolving understanding of racial equity and best practices for its operationalization. These tools are meant to be both a product and a process. Some tools have accompanying resources or helpful templates. These tools must sit within the organization’s vision and strategy and will require individual commitment by each staff member.Įach tool is comprised of 10 or fewer yes/no questions, with 1-3 open ended questions for consideration. Using a racial equity tool early means that individual decisions can be aligned with organizational racial equity goals and desired outcomes. When racial equity is left off the table and not addressed until the last minute, the use of a racial equity tool is less likely to be fruitful. While the use of these tools can be an important step in operationalizing equity, they alone are not enough. The earlier you use a racial equity tool, the better. The goal of these racial equity tools is to provide a structure and consistent checkpoints for institutionalizing the consideration of racial equity. When racial equity is not explicitly brought into operations and program design, racial inequities are likely to be perpetuated. These racial equity tools have been designed to integrate explicit consideration of racial equity at key points in organizational decisions, including proposals, recruitment, programs, communications, procurements, and partnerships.
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