Strategic Planning and DEI

Why It’s Important

Integrating DEI into municipal strategic planning helps to establish diversity, equity, and inclusion as a priority and springboard a whole-of-government approach to ensuring that all municipal operations are looked at through the lens of DEI.

However, this is often easier said than done. Moving from identifying DEI as a shared value and priority to establishing actionable next steps can be a challenge. Diversity, equity, and inclusion feel different in every community depending on its unique historic, socio-economic, and demographic characteristics. One municipality’s approach may look very different from another.

As a result, it can be helpful to establish a baseline of where the community is currently at and how community members currently perceive the City or Village. There are several approaches to do this:

Community Surveys: Many communities already utilize community surveys to inform their strategic plans. Surveys can aid in the process of strategic planning by demonstrating community interest in DEI and establishing a baseline from which to start. Incorporating a few questions that address how people feel about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the community can be a great way to collect some initial data to inform strategic priorities.

Community Engagement: It is important to reach residents that do not always interact with or trust their local government. Municipalities can collaborate with schools, libraries, park districts, and community-based non-profits to help reach these residents through surveys, community listening sessions, or other approaches.

LEARN MORE — HANOVER PARK

David Webb
Deputy Village Manager
dwebb@hpil.org
(630) 823-5611

Strategies

Strategic planning for DEI comes with challenges, too. Common local challenges include:

Residents, stakeholders, or staff may be skeptical about DEI: These might include fears about meeting “quotas”, pushing out certain populations of people in favor of bringing in “more diverse” populations, or a belief that the community is already welcoming. It is important to create the space for these perspectives and concerns.

Misunderstanding about the scope of local government. Community members may want to talk about DEI in a broader context than municipal government. This can be a challenge for municipalities to navigate, but also an opportunity to collaborate with other organizations like libraries, schools, and townships to allow for broader around DEI in the community at large.

Community Profile – Village Of Hanover Park

The Village of Hanover Park has been engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion work since the creation of their Cultural Inclusion and Diversity Committee in 2008. Since then, the Committee has flourished and held many community and stakeholder events that:

  • Promote social harmony in the Village and help deter prejudice, discrimination, and intolerance through educational and action programs.
  • Promote community involvement, partnerships, and initiatives by conducting educational or informational programs to address the cultural diversity within the Village; and
  • Identify cultural and social service needs of the residents of the Village and to work with existing entities to address these needs in the most meaningful way.

When their strategic plan was up for renewal in 2021, the Village Board decided to build on the work of the Committee and formally establish DEI as a Village priority. They first held community events to garner input from the community. These were a helpful starting point, but the Village Board was interested in collecting more feedback to incorporate into their strategic planning process.

The Village and the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies developed survey questions to ask residents about how they felt about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Village as part of a larger community survey. The Village included a stipulation in their contract to reach a certain percentage of their Hispanic population. The survey used an eighth-grade level of English throughout and included definitions of diversity, belonging, and inclusion that were contextualized specifically to Village municipal functions. It was administered over the course of four months in online, paper, and phone formats to reach the largest possible audience.

The survey revealed that the Village’s existing efforts to create a welcoming and inclusive community were well-received by a majority of the community, with 97.1% of respondents expressing that they felt welcome and 89.9% expressing that they felt they belonged in Hanover Park. However, it also revealed many residents were unaware of the Village’s DEI efforts, signaling a need to increase and improve communications with residents. The survey also revealed a need to improve language access and resources for residents that do not speak English. These insights were incorporated into Hanover Park’s strategic plan, approved by the Village Board on May 5, 2021. Approved DEI objectives in the strategic plan are outlined below:

Picture1

Lessons Learned

  • It can be helpful to work with a third party on community surveys that address DEI because it is such a sensitive topic.
  • It is important to clearly define the language used in the surveys, especially because understandings of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the context of local government can vary widely.
  • A community can obtain a lot of information by incorporating DEI questions into existing community surveys rather than crafting a separate DEI survey.
  • Community surveys are a strategy to receive broader feedback from the community than what may be heard from more vocal residents.

Learn More

David Webb
Deputy Village Manager
dwebb@hpil.org
(630) 823-5611

Resources

  • Village of Hanover Park DEI Survey Questions
  • Village of Hanover Park Extracted DEI Survey Results
  • Village of Hanover Park Executive Summary – DEI Results
  • Below is a list of locally used survey questions compiled by the Mayor’s Caucus:
    • Do you feel a sense of belonging in the City/Village?
    • Do you feel welcome, included, accepted, and/or valued as resident of the City/Village?
    • Do you feel safe in the City/Village?
    • Do you feel that people of diverse backgrounds and abilities are treated fairly in the City/Village and that everyone has access to opportunity?
    • Do you feel comfortable attending a City/Village meeting to express your perspective on a community matter that impacts diversity, equity, and inclusion?
    • When experiencing an emergency, do you feel comfortable calling the City/Village Fire Department or Police Department?
    • Would you recommend the City/Village as a place to live to others
    • Do you feel that the City/Village has made diversity, equity, and inclusion a priority?
    • On what area of diversity, equity, and inclusion do you think the City/Village government should focus on in the next few years?