Diversity, equity and inclusion action plan

Congratulations! Your land trust’s team—board members, staff and volunteers—have completed the organizational evaluation, tallied the results and are now ready to begin the discussions that will be used to develop your Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan. In preparing for and participating in the group discussions, some considerations you might keep in mind are below.

In order to begin creating an organizational culture around diversity, equity and inclusion, it is best if everyone participates in the group discussions together. You may decide to have breakout groups during the discussion, this is especially beneficial in larger organizations. The breakout groups allow more space for everyone to participate. If you decide to have breakout sessions, it is essential to bring everyone back together after each break and have each group report on what it discussed. This will take more time and you may be tempted to cut this step out to save time. Don’t. This process is about taking time (culture shift) to ensure everyone is heard. Following this process will help build and strengthen connections across your organization.

They can be used for group discussions—small or large—about diversity, equity and inclusion, and other topics as well. As you “strengthen your muscles” for having inclusive conversations, the group agreements can be a crucial first step toward organizational change and can provide a framework for creating and growing an inclusive, welcoming work environment and organizational culture in which all voices are heard and valued.

While it helps to have sample agreements as a starting point if you’ve never used them in the past, the discussion provides opportunities for all team members to have a say, voice their concerns and priorities and have those priorities included in the agreements. You may find out, during the process, that there are behaviors that bother you but don’t bother others, and vice versa. It’s easy to think that those issues are not important but, at the same time, they may be exactly why previous conversations or efforts may have been less effective than hoped for. The group agreements allow for all aspects of diversity—race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic status, language, ability, age, religious commitment, political perspective and even personality and work style—to be included, respected, valued and appreciated.

Below is an example of a group agreement to create shared norms for communication for the organization from the accredited Conservation Trust for North Carolina.

Here is another example of simpler group agreements to get you started.

As you continue your discussions, you will have more information to populate your Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan. Your plan does not need to be complicated. The key is to begin documenting your aspirations and efforts as an organization. As your organization increases its knowledge, skills and abilities, your plan will expand.

Below is an example of a simple format to help your organization get started.

If your organization already has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan, explore how you could incorporate the Topics and Action Items from this process into your plan.