VLCT's Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Three-Year Strategic Plan outlines the actions the VLCT Board, Equity Committee, and staff plan to do in the short term, medium term, and long term. Each action item indicates the responsible party as well as the priority. This strategic plan was developed by VLCT's Equity Committee and approved by VLCT's Board of Directors on July 21, 2022.
| Pillar | Goal | # | Action Item | Priority | REsponsible Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Foundation & Infrastructure | Provide visible, dedicated support and structure with authority and budget to effectively implement Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. | 1 | Form and maintain an equity committee to provide municipal and equity input to the VLCT Board and expertise on equity efforts | Short | Executive Director, VLCT Board of Directors |
| 2 | Secure additional funding to support equity work in year two and three | Medium | Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director | ||
| 3 | Offer stipends for VLCT committees to encourage underrepresented individuals to serve | Medium | Executive Director, VLCT Board of Directors | ||
| Leadership and Accountability | Hold leaders accountable for implementing the Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging vision, setting goals, achieving results, and being role models. | 1 | Adopt and amend as necessary the VLCT Statement of Equity and Racial Justice | Short | VLCT Board of Directors, Equity Committee |
| 2 | Review the VLCT Equity and Social Justice Plan and the VLCT Three Year Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Strategic Plan progress report with the Board on an annual basis | Medium | VLCT Board of Directors, Executive Director | ||
| 3 | Prioritize the inclusion of underrepresented voices on the Boards of VLCT, PACIF and VERB | Medium | VLCT Board of Directors, Executive Director | ||
| 4 | Provide annual Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging training to VLCT, PACIF and VERB boards | Long | Executive Director, Human Resources Director | ||
| Assessment and Evaluation | To identify and monitor appropriate metrics and accountability measures to achieve and sustain systemic change. | 1 | Complete the Cultural Competency Survey and Org Maturity Index | Short | VLCT Human Resources |
| 2 | Hold Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging listening sessions to inform VLCT of current state of Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging | Short | Communications, Human Resources, Executive Director | ||
| 3 | Collect demographic information to help VLCT measure its effectiveness in providing Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging services to members, including questions in member surveys and annual contact database updates about race, ethnicity, gender identification, and more in member surveys as a way to gauge progress | Medium | Communications, Executive Director, Administration | ||
| 4 | Conduct regular assessments of board’s Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging competency and commitment | Medium | VLCT Board of Directors, Executive Director | ||
| Equitable Employment Practices | Strengthen the organization by hiring individuals with a diversity of life and professional experiences. | 1 | Conduct a Human Resource Policy Review | Short | VLCT Human Resources |
| 2 | Distribute job announcements through new channels including the Vermont Professionals of Color Network (vtpoc.net) | Medium | Human Resources | ||
| 3 | Develop hiring best practices document that municipalities can use | Long | Human Resources | ||
| DEI Education and Training | To develop workforce awareness, knowledge, and skills necessary to be active partners in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. | 1 | Provide foundational training for VLCT Equity Committee, Board, and Staff (including Inclusive “Excellence: An Imperative for Municipalities” and “Together Forward: Getting to a thriving VLCT Equity Committee”) | Short | Executive Director |
| 2 | Build a cohort of municipalities interested in undertaking equity work and provide them with data collection tools, education opportunities, and networking opportunities | Long | Executive Director | ||
| 3 | Provide annual diversity, equity and inclusion training that focuses on unconscious bias, respect in the workplace, and microaggressions to members | Medium | Executive Director, Human Resources, Communications | ||
| 4 | Offer annual foundational Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging training about power dynamics including systemic racism, ableism and other exclusionary systems to municipal leaders | Medium | Executive Director, Human Resources, Communications | ||
| Inclusive work environment | To have a diverse and inclusive workplace free of harassment, discrimination, and systemic barriers. | 1 | Provide ongoing justice, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging training to staff | Long | Human Resources |
| 2 | Create and convene municipal official affinity groups to help with inter-municipal learning and VLCT learning | Medium | Municipal Assistance Center, Executive Director, Communications | ||
| 3 | Build a cultural transformation committee at VLCT aimed at celebrating diversity | Short | Human Resources | ||
| Inclusive Service and Engagement | To ensure inclusive and equitable access to and benefit of municipal services, programs, and facilities | 1 | Convene municipal equity committees for informal shared learning opportunities | Short | Municipal Assistance Center, Communications |
| 2 | Review and adopt a model equity impact assessment tool to help communities evaluate the impact of their policies on their residents | Short | Equity Committee | ||
| 3 | Offer equity grants to communities to hire consultants, do equity, training, implement equity related solutions | Medium | Executive Director | ||
| 4 | Convene workgroup to consider how to use the power of insurance trusts to motivate communities to undertake equity work | Medium | Risk Management Services staff, Executive Director | ||
| 5 | Provide technical assistance to communities undertaking equity work through an attorney and equity consultant in the Municipal Assistance Center | Medium | Municipal Assistance Center, Executive Director | ||
| Accessible Information and Communication | To communicate both internally and externally in a way that demonstrates, exemplifies, and embodies justice, equity, inclusion and belonging. | 1 | Build a more comprehensive VLCT equity website, including information about the equity committee, access to the VLCT equity toolkit, and resources | Short | Executive Director, Equity Committee, Communications |
| 2 | Offer an equity awareness curriculum, featuring stats, podcasts, websites, social media, resources related to avoiding microaggressions and examples of inclusive language | Medium | Communications, Executive Director, Municipal Assistance Center | ||
| 3 | Create and update an equity toolkit, including best practices, model policies and templates | Short | Communications, Executive Director, Municipal Assistance Center, Equity Committee | ||
| 4 | Consider developing resources to help communities ensure critical municipal information is available to all community members by designing for accessibility, including websites and translation services | Medium | Equity Committee, Executive Director, Communications | ||
| Meaningful Partnerships | To develop positive and respectful internal and external partnerships that contribute to inclusive decision making. | 1 | Support communities in their consideration of statements of inclusion as a step in their justice, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging work. Collaborate with promoters of these statements, such as the Declaration of Inclusion promoters. Support communities in their efforts to act on those statements. | Short | Executive Director, Advocacy, Communications |
| 2 | Provide support and advocate for municipalities, local officials, and municipal staff to participate in and join affiliate identity-based organizations including but not limited to ICMA, National Forum for Black Public Administrators, Local Government Hispanic Network, International Network for Asian Public Administrators, CivicPRIDE, and Vermont Women Leading Government | Long | Administration | ||
| 3 | Coordinate with the Vermont Community Foundation and the State of Vermont Office of Racial Equity to provide comprehensive and coordinated equity services to municipalities | Medium | Executive Director, Advocacy | ||
| 4 | Engage with national local government associations doing equity work, such as the National League of Cities’ REAL program and ICMA’s Government Alliance on Race and Equity Program, to bring national best practices and resources to Vermont municipalities | Medium | Executive Director, Municipal Assistance Center |
Publication Date
07/14/2021