IDARE Toolkit

Wondering how your DEI Committee can get started utilizing tools developed as part of our Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism and Equity (IDARE) initiative? Here are some steps, with links to additional resources.

Identify DEI Representative and/or I-DARE Committee Chair(s) and (co)Chairs.
Post or update your DEI Committee charge and membership to your organization’s website.
Identify all DEI groups (departmental DEI committees, affinity groups, student groups, working groups, task forces, etc.) within the I-DARE organization/unit.
Make succession plans for future years.

Here are some prompts as you think about what DEI issues you might address and how to prioritize them.

Reviewing your strategic investments, on which objectives (under the Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Vision Goals 1-5) would you like to focus more time, effort, or concentration?
Within those objectives what are some of the issues or priorities taht are emerging for your organization?
How do you know about this problem? How do you know that it is a problem?
How often do you face this problem? When or where does it come up the most?
What is it important to address this problem? What is the impact of the problem? Who does it impact most?
What would it look like to make progress on this problem?
What is currently being done to address this problem?
How will you develop a proposed solution, e.g. who will you consult or engage, and what will the process look like?
Is there future evidence, research or data that you need to understand the problem better?

Identify the Strategic Investments that have already been made within your organization.
Map current Strategic Investments to the Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Vision (D&ISV) goals and objectives
Review Strategic Investments document against D&ISV strategic vision and look for gaps: where would you like to see more time, effort, or concentration related to each goal? (Problem statement). Identify actions that could be taken to respond to gaps (problem statements).

Engage stakeholders in your organization (departmental DEI committees, affinity groups, student groups, working groups, task forces, etc.) in the planning process.
Work with campus partners to identify data that will show the evidence of the problem you are trying to solve and/or of the potential success of the intervention you are proposing.
Refine draft action plan, including problem statements, proposed actions, and evidence.
Assign tasks, execute, and track progress.

Leverage the IDARE Community of Practice to remove barriers, find areas of collaboration, and be in community as DEI practitioners.
Report on your achievements, find best practices, and identify ways to improve.