With municipal survey completed, MMA works on DEI strategic plan

The consultant for the MMA’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative has completed the Municipal DEI Survey and is using the input to help create a DEI strategic plan for municipalities.

Bird Guess, CEO of Racial Equity Group, presented the survey results to the MMA’s DEI Committee in February and plans to meet with the committee again in early March to review his proposed strategic plan.

The MMA launched the Municipal DEI Survey last November in order to better understand the progress municipalities have made in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The survey was designed to identify how municipalities have emphasized DEI in municipal practices, policies and culture, and measured the maturity of this work.

Survey results, from nearly 125 communities, show that 60% of communities have not yet started any DEI work, 30% are emerging in this area (discussions are started or awaiting approval), 10% are establishing practices (partially in place, or the process for implementation has started), and less than 1% are reinforcing (full practice is currently present and active). Approximately one third of respondents have hired a staff person to lead their DEI work.

The greatest challenges for communities that haven’t started implementing DEI practices are a lack of staff to manage the work, and funding for training or for hiring consultants. For municipalities that have started, challenges include a lack of time, staff resources, and financial constraints. More than 20% have received DEI grant funding, with the majority spending it on equity audits.

Along with a strategic plan, Guess will identify tools and resources for communities to use in implementing DEI policies and practices.

The MMA continues to offer educational DEI opportunities, and plans to increase these offerings in the year ahead.

The MMA Annual Meeting in January included a strong focus on DEI, with a keynote address by Eddie Glaude Jr., a bestselling author and professor in Princeton University’s African American Studies Department. Glaude said organizations too often view diversity, equity and inclusion as a chore to be completed, a box to be checked, or a tactic to reduce unease during politically fraught moments. Instead of viewing DEI as a separate concern, he recommends that leaders treat diversity as a critical measure of their mission and as a key metric of success.

The Annual Meeting also featured a DEI workshop led by Pittsfield Chief Diversity Officer Michael Obasohan and Sharon Select Board Chair Kiana Pierre-Louis. The workshop was repeated in each of the three workshop time slots, to give local leaders ample opportunity to learn more about core DEI foundations and recommended best practices.