Our plans

What are we doing?

We recognise that we are not yet the organisation we want and need to be in terms of equity, diversity and inclusion.

We’re looking at ‘how we do things’ and identifying where we must make changes.

Some of these, like changing where and how we recruit new team members and what we ask of them, should lead to more visible changes quickly.

Others will take more time to achieve.

What have we done so far?

We’re excited that we have been supported and are learning to understand the issues and how each of us has a role to play in rooting out bias, and tackling non-inclusive behaviours, words and actions.
Identified staff across all levels and directorates and members to act as ambassadors, to help steer our on-going EDI work.
Clarified what we mean by EDI, as Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, noting ‘belonging’ is part of being inclusive and ‘equity’ goes deeper than ‘equality’; recognising everybody is different and may require different solutions to access the same opportunities.
Produced a comprehensive action plan for the whole organisation looking at ‘how we do things’ with accompanying delivery timetable and targeted actions.
Ensured that EDI is at the heart of any proposals (projects, reports, strategies, policies) by asking anyone developing proposals to show from the outset how they are working collaboratively with communities to co-develop their proposal and what positive impacts they expect.
Enriched our decision-making process by broadening representation within our members – co-opting two members young people to provide different perspectives,
Re-established / refreshed the South Downs Partnership with a diverse range of members advising on different aspects of our work
Arranged for external training for all staff covering;
- Diversity & Inclusion 101. The Course covered: overview of each category (protected characteristics under 2010 Equality Act) and the supporting legislation; the business case for D&I; explanation of key terminology; what bias is, how to recognise and challenge it within yourself and others; Practical toolkits and Do’s &’s Don’ts;
- Allyship training: Primarily focussed on race, and the meaning of and power behind race related language. The session covered the Black Lives Matter movement, microaggression, racial gaslighting and cultural appropriation. It then went on to look into privilege and Allyship, explaining how it can be universally understood as part of the SDNP commitment to equality for all in the workplace.
- Building Diverse and inclusive Communities: This course helped understand how to build and engage external communities where everyone feels they can belong.

Our Plans for 2022

Our focus will be on implementing our actions including:

Collecting data that will help identify where we should concentrate our efforts
Publish information so that our progress is visible for all to see,
Enabling different voices to be heard, sharing our digital platforms