The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and Illinois City/County Management Association partnered with the UIC Great Cities Institute to provide support to municipalities interested in operationalizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their municipalities.
About the Program
This pilot was designed by municipalities, for municipalities. Over the past few years, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, ILCMA, and UIC Great Cities have worked closely with elected officials and municipal staff from across the Chicago region and state of Illinois to better understand the unique challenges faced by small- to mid-sized municipalities interested in pursuing this work. Members of the MMC DEI Working Group and ILCMA Diversity and Inclusion Committee played an active role in advising the creation of this pilot.
Program Partners
Program Design & Structure
This 6-month pilot provided ongoing training, coaching, and peer support to a cohort of 14 municipalities. Each month (or cycle) of the pilot will involved one in-person training session held at the Northern Illinois University Naperville campus. The monthly in-person trainings were followed by two weeks of independent work on a project unique to each participating community. The final week of the cycle involves a small-group coaching session with an experienced coach. Participants will be expected to attend all sessions.
Learning Outcomes
Participants learned the principles of racial equity driven organizational change and how to apply disciplined, practical approaches to incorporate equity into management and leadership decision-making processes unique to their community. The program curriculum focused on internal organizational practices including performance management, internal communications, human resources, and finance. These focus areas are elaborated below:
Participant Eligibility
Municipal governments from across the state of Illinois are eligible to apply. Organizations interested in applying must designate two senior-level staff persons from separate departments within the municipality or separate government entities in the community (such as a representative from the municipality + school district, library, township, etc.). If a municipality would like to elect two senior-level individuals from the same department, these individuals should be able to demonstrate that they are committed to an organization-wide or community-wide participation in the pilot. Participants should have decision-making authority and influence within their organization, such as department heads or managers.
Resources
- Operationalizing DEI Pilot Program Overview – PDF
- This pdf contains all of the information provided on this page about the program.
- Operationalizing DEI Pilot Program Applicaiton – PDF
- This is a pdf of application questions that may be used as a reference point for organizations interested in applying. Please note that all applications must be submitted via online form in order to be considered. The application can be found in the ‘How to Apply’ section and at this link.
- Pilot Overview – Presentation Slides from UIC Great Cities
- These slides were presented by Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton at the May 10, 2022 Diversity Issues Task Force Meeting and provide information about the design and intention of the pilot.
- Pilot Overview – Presentation Recording from 5/10/22 Diversity Issues Task Force Meeting
- This is a meeting recording from the May 10, 2022 Diversity Issues Task Force Meeting. See 00:26:50 – 00:40:00 for a presentation by Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton describing the design and intention of the pilot.