Advancing Racial Equity: Putting Theory into Action

2019 learning community cohort for local and regional government in North Carolina  

The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) is pleased to announce a capacity building opportunity for city and county governments interested in advancing racial equity by addressing institutional and structural racism. This opportunity is for jurisdictions that are beginning or wishing to deepen their work on racial equity. Teams from government jurisdictions will make a one-year commitment to the learning year process which includes 7 in-person skill-building sessions, between-session homework, and 3 online peer-to-peer exchanges.

• General Team Registration for Jurisdictions: July 22, 2019 – August 22, 2019
• Informational Webinar-General Overview and Q&A: August 14, 2019 1pm – 2:30 pm
• Informational Webinar- Logistics and Q&A: August 27, 2019 2pm – 3:30 pm
• Suggested Pay by Date: August 30, 2019
  • (Race Forward must receive payment in order for jurisdiction to receive coupon code and Eventbrite link to register individual participants)
• Individual Participant Registration: August 15, 2019 – September 26, 2019
• This cohort has limited capacity and can only accept 150 total participants. All cohort applications are subject to review and approval by GARE staff. 

What is the Government Alliance on Race and Equity?

GARE is a national network of governments working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) is a core project of Race Forward and the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at the University of California Berkeley. GARE is a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. We use a three-prong approach:

1. We are a membership organization that supports national and regional networks of jurisdictions that are at the forefront of work to achieve racial equity
2. We offer pathways for new jurisdictions to begin doing racial equity work, including contractual technical assistance and year-long learning cohorts
3. We support and build local and regional collaborations that are broadly inclusive and focused on achieving racial equity

Government’s proactive work on racial equity has the potential to leverage significant change, setting the stage for the achievement of racial equity in our communities. Supporting targeted cohorts of jurisdictions and providing best practices, tools and resources is helping to build and sustain current efforts to strengthen a national movement for racial equity.

 

What is a GARE learning community?

A field of practice has developed that advances racial equity and transforms government. Cities and counties in California and Minnesota have come together to learn about and implement racial equity initiatives since 2016. The lessons from these efforts are being incorporated into a new set of Learning Community structures. Representatives of North Carolina institutions expressed interest in launching a North Carolina learning community at a meeting hosted by GARE in January 2019, and at the GARE Annual Meeting in April 2019.

Jurisdictions can join the introductory cohort to learn about the field of practice and expand their efforts to achieve institutional and structural equity. The structured curriculum focuses on:

• normalizing conversations about race,
• organizing internal structures to support the work of institutional culture change and
• operationalizing new practices, procedures and policies by using racial equity tools.

What will we receive?

Each jurisdiction receives tools and resources, including:

• A racial equity training curriculum, with cohort participants who are equipped to implement the training with other employees,
• Training on how to use a Racial Equity Tool in policy, practice, procedure, program and budget decisions,
• Support for identifying and launching pilot projects that demonstrate where to start achieving racial equity outcomes in your jurisdiction,
• A capacity building plan and organizational structure to institutionalize equity within your own jurisdiction,
• Example policies, practices, and procedures that help advance racial equity, and
• Support on developing a Racial Equity Action Plan

Use of these tools and resources will vary depending on the opportunities individual jurisdictions identify. Individual teams may request additional training (note: additional fees apply) during the learning year to supplement their jurisdiction’s specific needs. Up to 10 hrs. of technical assistance will be provided as a free service by GARE to ensure responsiveness to the local conditions of each jurisdiction. Additional technical assistance may be acquired at an additional cost per jurisdiction.

How will the learning community be structured?

The structure will consist of 7 in-person skill-building sessions, between-session homework assigned to build leadership for institutional change, and 3 online peer-to-peer exchanges to foster strategy development and problem solving. An Advancing Racial Equity Speaker Series will be incorporated into skill building sessions and online peer-to-peer exchanges, to create an opportunity for jurisdictions to hear from key experts and member jurisdictions implementing best practices around racial equity.

The learning community training process is conducted over the course of a year in order to provide ample time for jurisdictions to process the learning with key staff internally, apply learning and the racial equity tool to current policy, practice, procedure, and budget decisions, and gain real time feedback from peer jurisdictions and GARE staff. GARE’s approach is not a “check-the-box” approach, but rather one designed to create space for reflection, application, and continuous improvement. The learning community will conclude with an in-person NC Symposium and Learning Community Celebration to debut each jurisdictions Racial Equity Action Plan, share lessons learned, and applaud the contributions of the team.

 

Participation Cost Per Jurisdiction

6-10 Participants	11-15 Participants	20 Participants (Only available for select large jurisdictions-contact for more information)
$20,000	$27,000	$40,000

 

The total value of participation in skill-building trainings, facilitation, and technical assistance without the cost-sharing mechanism of the cohort is $100,000. GARE generally charges $12,000 per day for 8-hour workshops, $6,000 per day for 4-hour workshops, $1,000 for webinars, and $200/hr. for technical assistance provided by regional managers. GARE is committed to creating a community of practice of jurisdictions not just committed to advancing racial equity, but committed to applying racial equity tools, implementing new policy, practice, and procedure, and evaluating results. In order to do that, jurisdictions need the support, encouragement and collaboration of neighboring cities, counties, and state agencies, committed to the same.

 

The cost of participation is per team, and not per individual participants. Invoicing will be based on team size at the time of General Team Registration (July 22-August 22), if team size changes at any time during the course of the cohort, refunds will not be provided. It is expected that all participants registered by the jurisdiction will participate in each session, without substitution. In the event of staff changes, teams will be able to substitute up to 2 persons for the course of the learning community. Substitutions will not be accepted after the completion of the second in-person training (tentatively scheduled for November 19^th). Jurisdiction team leads/points of contact are responsible for sharing materials with staff who miss sessions.

 

Once you have registered your team, you will receive an invoice for payment*[1].  Please submit payment in order to receive your jurisdiction’s customized coupon code and Eventbrite link to send to your team members.  Each team member will need to complete Individual Participant Registration using the coupon code and Eventbrite link by September 26, 2019. This cohort has limited capacity and can only accept 150 total participants.

 

What is expected from participating jurisdictions?

Participating jurisdictions will:

• Identify a total of 6-15 employees including 2 co-leads. Each team should have 2 co-leads and a group of 4-13 employees. Teams should include leadership and staff committed to advancing racial equity and transforming government. Jurisdictions with fewer than 100 employees who would like to register jointly, should contact GARE for details (Additional fees may apply). (Note: Jurisdictions that pre-register between June 20-30, 2019 will have a total team of 20 employees with 2 co-leads and 18 employees.)
• Commit to attending each session and completing assignments between sessions. Location of events will rotate between Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte-Mecklenburg metro areas to maximize in-person participation. Participants can expect 4 sessions to take place in or around Raleigh-Durham metro area and 3 sessions to take place in or around the Charlotte-Mecklenburg metro area. The location of the final in-person NC Symposium and Learning Community Celebration will be determined at a later date and shared with participants via email.
• Share about the racial equity work your jurisdiction is doing at regular intervals with Learning Community participants and GARE via learning sessions and the GARE Members Portal.

What is the role of GARE?

• Manage and implement the overall project, including provision of training, sharing of curriculum, tools and resources, communications and outreach, etc.
• Provide the following for all jurisdictions participating in the cohort:
  1. Promising and best practices, including racial equity tools, racial equity training curriculum, model policies practices and procedures, and surveys.
  2. Cross-cohort learning opportunities, including peer-to-peer exchanges, as well as technical assistance from academic and advocacy experts.
  3. Technical assistance on cross-jurisdictional priority areas.

Interested in applying for the cohort? Questions?

Shawna Davie, GARE South Region Project Manager (sdavie@raceforward.org) using the subject line 2019-2020 North Carolina GARE Cohort. If your jurisdiction would like to participate and is not a current member of GARE please contact Ariana Flores, GARE Membership Director (aflores@raceforward.org) for more information. If your organization is a non-profit or a community partner interested in participating alongside a jurisdiction, please contact GARE for more information.

All applications are subject to review and approval by GARE staff. 

We look forward to partnering with you to advance racial equity!

[1] * The cost of participation is per team, and not per individual participant. Invoicing will be based on team size at the time of registration, if team size changes at any time during the course of the cohort, refunds will not be provided. It is expected that all participants registered by the jurisdiction will participate in each session, without substitution. In the event of staff changes, teams will be able to substitute up to 2 persons for the course of the learning community. Substitutions will not be accepted after the completion of the second in-person training. Jurisdiction team leads are responsible for sharing all materials for sessions that staff missed.

 

[2] * The cost of participation is per team, and not per individual participant. Invoicing will be based on team size at the time of registration, if team size changes at any time during the course of the cohort, refunds will not be provided. It is expected that all participants registered by the jurisdiction will participate in each session, without substitution. In the event of staff changes, teams will be able to substitute up to 2 persons for the course of the learning community. Substitutions will not be accepted after the completion of the second in-person training. Jurisdiction team leads/points of contact are responsible for sharing materials with staff who miss sessions.  Jurisdiction team leads are responsible for sharing all materials for sessions that staff missed.