Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect Assessment & Framework

BDS Planning and Epiphanies of Equity completed a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect Assessment of the DEIR Leadership Group at the Washington State Department of Commerce. Commerce is a large and complex State agency with over 360 employees, five programmatic divisions managing dozens of community programs, and an annual operating budget of over $700M. BDS and EoE worked directly with a group of top Agency leadership (Deputy Director and Division Directors) as well as program staff who were collectively leading the organization’s nascent DEIR work.

The Assessment and Framework foundationally answers two questions about the DEIR Leadership Group and their ability to operationally advance equity at the Department of Commerce:

1. What is the DEIR Leadership Group’s positionality to undertake equity work at Commerce today? (How is equity work currently being framed and understood by leaders? What blind spots or gaps may exist for the group); and

2. Based on this positionality, how should the DEIR Leadership Group structure and approach equity work for the agency moving forward? (What is the most appropriate governance structure? How and in what manner should staff be engaged?)

This report entailed a comprehensive review of department training material, policies, internal communications, and staff survey responses and resulted in an assessment and framework for a decentralized governance structure of DEIR staff councils within the department. BDS managed this $50K contract on a tight deadline to high client satisfaction.