The Flagstaff Sustainability Office values equity and has been engaged in a learning journey over the past few years to understand its significance in sustainability and government, as well as the legacy of inequitable design in government programs. We've learned that if we're not designing with equity as a priority, there's a good chance we're unintentionally perpetuating inequities through our programs. Staff recently developed an "Equity Assessment" tool with the intention of evaluating all our programs and practices. This tool is designed to help us identify areas of strength and opportunities for improving equity in our work. This discussion was brought forward in our January Commission meeting and formally introduced in March. At the April meeting, we began to put the assessment to work by applying it to the Neighborhood Sustainability Grant program, in which the Commission helps develop materials, assists with outreach/advertising, and serves as the grant review panel. We discussed the outreach and communications section of the assessment. For the May meeting, we'll focus on the benefits and barriers for the NSG program and accountability/action steps. Attached is a summary of available data and the equity assessment we'll be utilizing, which includes a recap of the outreach & communications discussion. For the purposes of our discussion, equity is defined as "Meeting communities where they are and appropriately allocating resources and opportunities in accordance with principles of racial and social justice to create equitable outcomes for all community members. This includes recognizing that each person has different circumstances and needs and may require different resources and opportunities to thrive." |
